“No; the creature is sure to come back here, and we will make a trap.”
“A hard job to make one strong enough to catch that brute,” answered Roger.
“Very little strength is required,” said my uncle. “With your spade and my axe we can quickly make it. Here, let me set to work and dig!”
Roger, however, would not hear of that, and he and I commenced under my uncle’s directions, who aided us in digging a pit about the size of the rhinoceros, the earth around being somewhat soft and slimy. In the meantime the water in our well had not only bubbled up, but settled down, and was perfectly sweet and clear. Under Mr Sedgwick’s directions, we covered over the pit with boughs and leaves, so that the hollow below was not visible.
“The next time Mr Rhinoceros comes this way, he will find himself prevented from proceeding on his journey,” observed my uncle. “I have seen the creature caught in a pit like this, and I have little doubt that ours will succeed.”
We now filled the shells we had brought with water, and slinging them on a bamboo, proceeded back to the fort.