"So they are," he said. "But they won't hurt you. Can I help you? What are
you doing here? Have you lost your way in the jungle?"

By this time Noreen had recovered her presence of mind and began to realise
the situation. It was natural that this man should be astonished to find an
Englishwoman alone and in distress in the forest. Her appearance was
calculated to cause him to wonder--and a feminine instinct made her hands
go up to her untidy hair, as she suddenly thought of her dishevelled state.
She picked up her hat and put it on.

"I've had a fall from my pony," she explained, trying to reduce her unruly
tresses to order. "It shied at the elephants and threw me. Then I suppose
it bolted."

She looked around but could see nothing except elephants, which were
regarding her solemnly.

"But where have you come from? Are you far from your camp?" persisted
Dermot. "Shall I take you to it?"

"Oh, we are not in camp," replied Noreen. "I live on a tea-garden. It is
quite near. I can walk back, thank you, if you are sure that the elephants
won't do me any harm."

But as she spoke she felt her knees give way under her from weakness, and
she was obliged to sit down on the ground. The shock of the fall and the
fright had affected her more than she realised.

Dermot laid his hand on Badshah's head, and the animal knelt down.