Dewey took the cork out of the innocent little bottle and sprang out from behind the wagon. It was all done so quickly that Mark scarcely had time to realize what was up.
There was no one else in the tent to see; the four were too intent upon their fun. Dewey crept up behind them, and with as much deftness as if he had been a pickpocket, dumped the contents of the bottle into Bull’s “peanut” pocket.
A moment more and the excitement began.
Bull did not notice the substance when he reached for another peanut. He took it out and deftly “chucked” it into the elephant’s mouth.
Concerning the action of caustic potash when moistened there is no room to write a treatise here. If Parson Stanard had been there he would doubtless have explained how the latent heat of the substance is released by decomposition, etc., a process known as “slaking,” and so on. Suffice it to say that it gets hot.
Bull noticed the elephant look funny, he didn’t know why. There was a pail of water at the infuriated animal’s side, and he thrust his trunk into it and drank a huge draught to relieve the pain.
And then he raised his trunk, full of water as it was, and to Bull’s horror and consternation, deliberately blew a heavy column of it straight into his tormentor’s face!
CHAPTER IV.
BULL HARRIS BEATS A RETREAT.
The scene that resulted is left to the reader’s imagination. Bull was simply drenched; he was sputtering and gasping with rage. As for the elephant, he set up a terrific trumpeting, which, together with the cries of the cadets, brought the circus attendants in on a run.