attendants rushed from their huts to stare in awe-struck silence at animal
and man. Ramnath approached with marked reverence, salaaming deeply at
every step.

When Dermot dismounted it was hard for him to bid farewell to Badshah. He
felt, too, that he could no longer make the elephant submit to the ignominy
of fetters. So he bade Ramnath not shackle nor bind him again. Then he
patted the huge beast affectionately and pointed to the empty stall in the
_peelkhana_; and Badshah, seeming to understand and appreciate his being
left unfettered, touched his white friend caressingly with his trunk and
walked obediently to his brick standing in the stable. The watching
_mahouts_ and coolies nodded and whispered to each other at this, but
Ramnath appeared to regard the relations between his elephant and the sahib
as perfectly natural.

Dermot shouldered his rifle and started off on the long and weary climb to
Ranga Duar. When he reached the parade ground he found the men of the
detachment falling out after their morning drill. His subaltern, Parker,
who was talking to the Indian officers of the Double Company, saw him and
came to meet him.

"Hullo, Major; I'm glad to see you back again," he said, saluting. "I
hardly expected to, after the extraordinary stories I've heard from the
_mahouts_."

"Really? What were they?" asked his senior officer, leading the way to his
bungalow.

"Well, the simplest was that Badshah had gone mad and bolted with you into
the jungle," replied the subaltern. "Another tale was that he knelt down