McClure's Magazine, November 1909 — page 4: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

AEIG@E PERRIN This afternoon she marveled at being per- mitted to change to Captain Bastable’s howdah, and with a feeling of relief scrambled off the elephant, though trembling, as she always did, lest the great beast should seize her with his trunk or lash her with his tail, which was like a jointed iron rod. Then, once safely perched up behind Captain Bastable, she settled herself with a delightful sense of security. He under- stood her nervousness; he did not laugh or grumble at her little involuntary cries of fear; he was not impatient when she was convinced that the elephant was running away or sinking in a quicksand, or that the howdah was slipping off. He also understood the Colonel, and had several times helped her through a trying _ situation; and now the sympathy in his kind eyes made her tender heart throb with grati- tude. “All right?” he asked. She nodded, smiling, and they started again, plowing and lurching through the coarse grass, great wisps of which the elephant uprooted with his trunk and beat against his chest, to get rid of the soil before putting them in his mouth. Half an hour later, as they drew near the edge of the forest, one of the elephants suddenly stopped short, with a jerky, backward movement, and trumpeted shrilly. There was an expectant halt all along the line, and a cry from a native of “Tiger! Tiger!” Then an enormous striped beast bounded out of the grass and stood for a moment in a small open space, lashing its tail and snarling defiance. Colonel Wingate fired. The tiger, badly wounded, charged, and sprang at the head of Captain Bastable’s elephant. There was a confusion of noise —savage roars from the tiger, shrieks from the excited elephants, shouts from the natives, banging of rifles. Mrs. Wingate covered her face with her hands. She heard a thud as of a heavy body falling to the ground, and then she found herself being flung from side to side of the howdah, as the elephant bolted madly toward the forest, one huge ear torn to ribbons by the tiger's claws. She heard Captain Bastable telling her to hold on tight, and shouting desperate warnings to the mahout to keep the elephant as clear of the forest as possible. Like many nervous people, in the face of real danger she suddenly _ became absolutely calm, and uttered no sound as the pace increased and they tore along the forest edge, escaping overhanging boughs by a miracle. To her it seemed that the ponder- ous flight lasted for hours. She was bruised, shaken, giddy, and the crash that came at last was a relief rather than otherwise. A huge branch combed the howdah off the elephant’s 19 back, sweeping the mahout with it, while the still terrified animal sped on, trumpeting and crashing through the forest. Mrs. Wingate was thrown clear off the howdah. Captain Bastable had saved himself by jumping, and only the old mahout lay doubled up and unconscious amongst the débris of shattered wood, torn leather, and broken ropes. Netta could hardly believe she was not hurt, and she and Captain Bastable stared at each other with dazed faces for some mo- ments before they could collect their senses. Far away in the distance they could hear the elephant still running. Between them they extricated the mahout, and, seating herself on the ground, Netta took the old man’s uncon- scious head on her lap, while Captain Bastable anxiously examined the wizened, shrunken body. “Is he deadr”’ she asked. “T can’t besure. I’m afraid heis. I wonder if | could find some water? I haven’t an idea where we are, for | lost all count of time and distance. I hope Wingate is following us. Should you be afraid to stay here while I have a look round and see if we are anywhere near a villager” “Oh, no; I sha’n’t be frightened,” she said steadily. Her delicate, clear-cut face looked up at him fearlessly from the tangled back- ground of mighty trees and dense creepers; and her companion could scarcely believe that she was the same trembling, nervous little coward of an hour before. He left her, and the stillness of the jungle was very oppressive when the sound of his footsteps died away. She was alone with a dead or dying man, on the threshold of the vast, mysterious forest, with its possible horrors of wild elephants, tigers, leopards, snakes. She tried to turn her thoughts from such things, but the scream of a peacock made her start as it rent the silence, and then the undergrowth began to rustle ominously. It was only a porcupine that came out, rattling its quills, and, on seeing her, it ran into further shelter out of sight. It seemed to be growing darker, and she fancied the evening must be drawing on. She wondered if her husband would overtake them. If not, how were she and Jim Bastable to get back to the campr Then she heard voices and footsteps, and presently a little party of natives came in sight, led by Jim, and bearing a string bedstead. “T found a village not far off,” he.explained, “and thought we'd better take the poor old chap there. Then, if the Colonel doesn’t turn up by the time we've seen him comfortably MICLOOKS O (C(O) (©