The Family on Wheels

by J. Macdonald Oxley

The Tambys were now in the department of Gironde, and on the twentieth of December, about eleven in the morning, they left Parentes in order to go to Mamezan, a town situated on the seaside. They had to traverse about twenty miles of open moor and of pine woods without a single house on the whole route, and at that time of the year the night came on early.

When they were starting, Nalla, who was lying down beside the van, seemed very reluctant to rise, and did so only in obedience to Nadine, who said:

"My friend, be brave. We must go on farther and farther until we have found Lydia. Then we shall be able to take a good long rest. Come now, get up, like a good fellow. We have to be off without delay."

And so with manifest reluctance the elephant slowly rose, and followed mopingly along in the rear of the van that Steady seemed to find increasing difficulty in dragging over the hard roads.

The little party made slow progress, and at the end of three hours had accomplished only one-half of the journey.

Furthermore, a violent and icy wind blowing in from the sea raised the sand in a way that blinded poor old Steady, who toiled along painfully with his head bent as low as if he would fain bury it between his legs, and, finally, it was necessary to halt from time to time in order to let Nalla rest, for he seemed too feeble to walk at all fast.

The sky became covered with dark heavy clouds, and the temperature suddenly went down, while the bitter wind continued to blow mercilessly. Then the snow began to fall.

The great stretch of sand was utterly deserted save for the solitary van with its occupants and Nalla, and in a few minutes the whole plain was as white as a tablecloth. The snow fell so thickly as to completely shut out the sky and all the world around.

Cæsar, anxious for the animals, managed to arrange the canvas curtain of their "theater" so that it covered Nalla's head and the most of Steady's body, and then the three children shut themselves up in the van with Vigilant to endure the misery of their situation as best they could.

Poor old Steady kept up a dolorous whinnying and stamping of his hoofs as he strove to kick away the snow which banked about his feet, and chilled his legs, while Nalla poured forth pitiful plaints that sounded remarkably like sobs as he cowered beneath the canvas, which was all too small to afford him anything like adequate shelter.