Avenues had been formed between the tents, which had been placed in fairly even lines; but these pathways would naturally be guarded, and the Prince judged it would be safer to glide behind the tents in their confused and indistinct shadows.
Notwithstanding our appearance of heaviness, and our massive corpulence, we have the faculty of walking as noiselessly as a cat or a panther. A whole herd of elephants on the march, if they suspect any danger, can avoid snapping a twig, or rustling a leaf. The most acute hearing will fail to detect the sound of their footsteps; and whoever sees them filing past by hundreds would take them for phantoms. It would be quite proper to say "as light as an elephant"—but I imagine the idea never occurred to any one.
This peculiarity explains how I was enabled to circulate between these thousands of tents, scarcely seeing my way, and obliged very often to pass through an opening barely larger than my own person, without running against, or overturning anything, and without making a noise that would have betrayed us.
We had now reached the limits of the encampment, which were by no means easy to pass, for they had been rapidly fortified, ditches had been dug, and entrenchments thrown up. But the work having been hastily done was not very solid.
The Prince leaned down close to my ear, and said to me:
"Try to break down the earth wall, and turn it into the ditch so as to fill it up."
I understood, and went to work. The ground was still soft and yielded readily; but I could not prevent a dull thud when it fell into the ditch. It was a very feeble smothered sound ... and yet to me it seemed tremendous!
At last the opening was made. I passed through, plodded across the mud in the bottom of the ditch, and succeeded in climbing up the other side.
We were out of the camp, and I joyfully quickened my pace.
But a cry resounded—a cry of alarm. They had seen us in the open space, which I was crossing now at full speed.... "Beware, Master!" I seized him and placed him cross-wise upon my tusks, supporting him with my trunk, and without slackening my pace. My quick ear had detected the sound of loading guns—they were going to fire upon us; but my Prince, protected by the bulk of my great body would be in no danger.