“Oh, no you wouldn’t!” corrected Eva, tossing Bubbles a peanut. “One can’t hunt elephants without a permit. And the government never allows many to be taken at one time. That’s to protect the herds from being destroyed.”
“Well, anyway, it would be fun to capture even one elephant,” Veve declared. “And once you had him, he would live a long time.”
“Wrong again!” laughed the little circus girl. “Elephants have a life span the same as a man. They do their best work in their twenties and thirties and are old when they get to be seventy or eighty.”
“Eva, did you ever hear of a rogue elephant?” Connie asked. She had read the name in an animal book but did not understand its meaning.
“Oh, sure,” the circus girl replied, eager to impart information. “Every elephant herd has a natural leader. Usually it’s the bull that is the best fighter. But sometimes another elephant will try to become the leader. Then he fights him. The winner becomes the herd leader, and the loser usually goes off, turning bad.”
“What do you mean, he turns bad?” Veve inquired, rather puzzled.
“Oh, if it’s in the jungle, he tears up small trees and smashes branches. Sometimes he raids the plantations. Such an elephant is called a rogue. We had one once here in the circus and had to get rid of him because he made so much trouble.”
Connie and Veve very much enjoyed watching the elephants and hearing about them. But despite their interest, they were growing very tired. Veve especially, kept rubbing her eyes.
“I guess you’ve seen enough of the circus for now,” said Eva. “After you’ve rested, I’ll show you more. We’ll go now and ask Mr. Carsdale where you’re to sleep.”
“Do circus folks sleep in the daytime?” Veve asked, trying to cover a yawn.