few torches that had been left to dispel the
gloom were put out, or removed from sight.
The moon had not risen. Every tongue was
silent, save a few low whispers at intervals.
Eyes were eagerly strained towards the opening
through which the herd were expected to
rush. Every ear was on the stretch to catch
the most remote sounds in that direction.
One might have fancied, from the death-
like stillness of the place, that we were there
awaiting our own fate, instead of the fate of
elephants.

We did not wait long in this suspense.
A distant shouting burst suddenly upon our
startled ears. It drew rapidly nearer, and
soon we could distinguish the violent cracking
and snapping of branches of trees and low
jungle. Then we heard the quick tramp of
many ponderous and huge feet. There was
no doubt but that the animals were close
upon us; for torches were visible in the
direction from which they were coming:
indeed the distant jungle appeared to be
alive with lights. Every native stood to his
arms, such as they were. I could see the
white wands glimmering about in the black
forest at our feet: some score or two of rifle-
barrels, long and ugly-looking instruments,
of native make, were protruded from various
points. Several of the ladies of our party
fainted; and I verily believe that some of
the males wished inwardly that they were of
the other sex, to have the privilege of fainting
and being carried out of reach of danger. But
there was small time for attention, even to
fainting ladies. Our eyes were fixed upon the
moving and rapidly approaching lights. They
appeared to burn less brightly as they came
nearer: then some disappeared, and soon the
whole were extinguished, and all was plunged
in darkness. Still, on came the furious
monsters: bamboos crashed; the thick jungle
flew about in splinters. A heavy tramping,
and tearing, and snapping asunder of branches,
—and there they were safely within the
Kraal. Then arose a shout, as though the
clouds and earth were about to meet, or to
do something out of the common way. I bent
forward to catch a peep at the enemy. The
native body-guard waved their white wands.
The entrance was barred up in a twinkling,
and the torches brought forward to enable us
to witness the proceedings, when a volley of
loud uproarious laughter fell upon our ears,
blended with exclamations of angry
disappointment. All eyes were strained towards
the clump of trees in the centre of the
enclosure, where we beheld a dozen or two of
flaming Chules or torches, waved to and fro
by some score of half- frantic villagers; and
there, as the glare of torchlight burst through
the dense gloom,we beheld, crouching together,
in place of forty huge elephants, a knot of
village buffaloes, panting, and trembling, and
tossing their heads. A survey of those
creatures told us how the matter stood. There
had been torches fastened to their horns, and
one or two of them had the remains of Chules
hanging to their tails. There could not be a
shadow of doubt that the affair had been
a cruel hoax, and we were not long in ascribing
the origin of it to the real perpetrators
— the party of young coffee-planters with
whom I had slept in the Padé boat.

The laughter of the evening, however, was
not yet at an end. The light of innumerable
Chules, now moving about, discovered to us
three nervous gentlemen snugly perched high
among the branches of a tree close by our
stand. They had made a rush up, in the first
alarm of the onset; but, however easy fear
had made the ascent, they evidently found it
a somewhat difficult task to descend. All
eyes were at once fixed upon the unlucky
climbers, whose struggles to reach the lower
branches were hailed with roars of furious
laughter. Elephants, and buffaloes, and
hoaxers were for the moment forgotten.
One of them was the District Judge, a somewhat
cumbrous personage; another, was a
Collector of Customs, and the third, a
Commissioner of the Court of Requests, a thin
wiry fellow with a remarkably red face.
There they were, kicking, and straining, and
struggling, in as pretty a fix as any of the
Civil Service had ever found themselves; and
it was not until some bamboos and ropes had
been handed up to them, that they were able
to reach the stand, and thence wend their
way off the scene.

By the time the Kraal was cleared, the
night was far advanced, and the moon
high in the horizon. Advice then reached us
that the elephants had made a detour from the
line, and had taken it into their unruly heads
to treat themselves to a gambol across some
score or two of acres of prairie land; where
they were amusing themselves with a good
round game, despite the coaxing of a decoy
consisting of two tame elephants. It was
clear that nothing would be done on that
night, and our merry parties betook
themselves back to the village.

Our numbers were evidently on the decline
next day. The patience of many had been
exhausted. Towards evening intelligence was
brought in, that thirty-five elephants, of all
sizes, were in full march towards us; and,
shortly afterwards, the Government Agent of
the district, and the native chief of the Korle,
came in " from the driving," to see that all
was made ready for the proper reception of
the jungle visitors. Again all was hurry and
bustle. Provision-baskets and nervous ladies
were sent to the rear: wine-bottles were
placed in reserve, and sundry parting salutes
were made with packets of sandwiches. Once
more silence reigned over the Kraal: torches
were removed: the guards and watchers were
doubled, and an extra supply of the little
white wands brought to the front.

It was about two hours after dark when we
heard the first distinct shouts of the drivers,
who were slowly forcing the elephants towards