The lad then thought that he could make for the raft, but in his fall he had got to the edge of the river where there was deep, thick mud.
He knew that he could not leap across it, and if he attempted to walk across he would get stuck there.
There was nothing for it but that he must run up the shore a few paces to a point where the ground was harder at the water’s edge.
This kept him directly in front of the enraged elephant, but the risk had to be taken.
He would have fired at the elephant’s other eye if he could have had an opportunity to aim at it. The great beast was raging about and swinging his trunk so that there was no getting a mark of any kind that would be useful.
The elephant’s trunk happened to crash against a tree that grew near the bank. Instantly the elephant coiled his trunk about the tree and with a mighty wrench tore it roots and all from the ground and hurled it aside.
This would have been Trim’s opportunity if it had not been that the tree in being thrown by the elephant brushed against him and knocked him over.
Dobbin and the blacks upon the raft were watching the scene in helpless terror.
The elephant then evidently got his well eye on Trim, for he bounded forward with his trunk upraised. He brought it down just as Trim was struggling to his feet.
“I’m not going to let you step on me, you brute!” thought Trim, desperately, as he threw both arms about the elephant’s trunk.