"Make your minds easy," he said in a tone of superior knowledge. "Nothing dreadful will happen. The elephant will run until he is tired, and then he will find some nice fresh herbage, and he will stop to feed upon it. It would be no use trying to find him to-night, but immediately after reveille in the morning I will put at your services a detail of soldiers, and they will go out to look for your elephant."
Nadine and Cæsar thanked him warmly. He was quite right after all. It would be useless searching for Nalla in the darkness. They must wait for daylight, and so they bade everybody "Good-night" and went back into their van to wait for the morning.
The two younger children soon fell asleep again, but not so did Nadine and Cæsar. They spent the long hours whispering to each other conjectures as to what could possibly have so frightened Nalla, and exchanging hopes of how soon he would be found again.
At dawn they were ready and watching impatiently for the soldiers. The officer proved even better than his promise, for having reported the affair to Colonel Laurier, the latter had in the goodness of his heart, ordered out fifty soldiers with the command that they were to continue the search until the elephant had been found and returned to its owners.
At the suggestion of the officer, who was a particularly quick-witted young man, four parties were formed and one of the children accompanied each, the shrewd idea being that whichever party located Nalla there would be with it one that the great creature loved and trusted, and whose orders he would obey.
The plan of campaign having been thus skillfully arranged, the four parties set off upon their quest, going north, south, east, and west from the market-place.
All this kindness was not without its cheering influence upon the Tambys, who quite recovered their spirits, and high with hope of nothing serious having happened to their breadwinner, bade each other good-luck as the parties separated.
It not being possible even for a story-writer to be in four places at the same time, only Nadine's party will be followed.
They steered due north, making inquiries of every one they met upon the route. At first the answers returned gave them no encouragement that they were in the right direction. But after they had cleared the town and got into the outskirts, they began to hear of some strange enormous thing that had been caught sight of as it sped along the road. Those who first glimpsed it had not fully believed their senses, and supposed themselves to be the object of some delusion. Farther on, however, their informants had had more light to see by, and were able to give a better account, until presently they received so accurate a description of the marvel that they knew they were hot upon the scent.
"We shall come up with him soon now," said the officer confidently to Nadine. "He wouldn't run far after he got tired, and he'd be sure to look out for something to eat."