At the touch of his rider's foot the elephant moved forward into the open;
and without waiting for him to sink down Dermot slid to the ground. Old
hunter that he was, the Major could never repress a feeling of pity when he
looked on any harmless animal that he had shot; and he had long ago given
up killing such except for food. He propped his rifle against a tree and,
taking off his coat and rolling up his sleeves, drew his _kukri_ and
proceeded to disembowel and clean the _kakur_. While he was thus employed
Badshah strayed away into the jungle to graze, for elephants feed
incessantly.

When Dermot had finished his unpleasant task, it still remained to bind the
buck's legs together and tie him on to Badshah's back. For this he would
need cords; but he relied on the inexhaustible jungle to supply him with
these.

While searching for the udal tree whose inner bark would furnish him with
long, tough strips, he heard a crashing in the undergrowth not far away,
but, concluding that it was caused by Badshah, he did not trouble to look
round. Having got the cordage that he needed, he turned to go back to the
spot where he had left the _kakur_. As he fought his way impatiently
through the thorny tangled vegetation, he again heard the breaking of twigs
and the trampling down of the undergrowth. He glanced in the direction of
the sound, expecting to see Badshah appear.

To his dismay his eyes fell on a strange elephant, a large double-tusker.
It had caught sight of him and, contrary to the usual habit of its kind,
was advancing towards him instead of retreating. This showed that it was
the most terrible of all wild animals, a man-killing "rogue" elephant, than
which there is no more vicious or deadly brute on the earth.