The officer broke into laughter in which Nadine, relieved beyond expression at the sight of her precious elephant, not only unharmed, but enjoying himself so hugely, could not resist joining.
"Just look at the clever old fellow!" chuckled the officer. "Isn't he having a fine time of it? It seems a pity to disturb him."
"Oh! but he will do so much damage, and we will have to pay for it!" cried Nadine, who had always, poor girl, to consider the financial side of things, for was she not the little mother of a family that had many needs?
"That's so!" responded the officer, making a grimace. "There'll be a bill for damages, I suppose. Let us go to him and get him to stop his blow-out at once."
Nadine's appearance was not noticed by the rustics until she went right up to the elephant, and seized his trunk, saying:
"You naughty Nalla! you mustn't do that! You're stealing these vegetables, and I'll have to pay the farmer for them."
To the amazement of all save the officer, the elephant at once stopped his eager feeding, gave forth a joyful trumpeting, passed his trunk affectionately over Nadine's face, and then, wrapping it about her body, lifted her slight form to his neck, where he deposited her as gently as a mother would her baby.
From her commanding position Nadine made haste to address the open-mouthed rustics.
"I am so sorry, my Nalla," she said, patting the huge head with a certain air of reproof that the intelligent creature really seemed to understand, "has given you such a scare, and eaten so many of your vegetables. But something frightened him last night on the market-place, and he ran away, and we have been hunting for him ever since dawn. I will pay the owner of the garden for the damage he has done."
The murmur of astonishment changed into one of applause. There are no people with a livelier appreciation of dash and daring than the French, and Nadine's dramatic appearance on the scene, and remarkable self-possession for so young a girl, made a profound impression.