The sun went down into the wilderness; the forest stirred in its
sleep; a fish splashed in the lake. The spell was broken. Presently
the wind began to rise somewhere far away in the unknown land. I heard
it coming, nearer, nearer--a brisk wind that grew heavier and blew
harder as it neared us--a gale that swept distant branches--a furious
gale that set limbs clashing and cracking, nearer and nearer. Crack!
and the gale grew to a hurricane, trampling trees like dead twigs!
Crack! Crackle! Crash! Crash!

_Was it the wind?_

With the roaring in my ears I sprang up, staring into the forest
vista, and at the same instant, out of the crashing forest, sped
Professor Smawl, skirts tucked up, thin legs flying like
bicycle-spokes. I shouted, but the crashing drowned my voice. Then all
at once the solid earth began to shake, and with the rush and roar of
a tornado a gigantic living thing burst out of the forest before our
eyes--a vast shadowy bulk that rocked and rolled along, mowing down
trees in its course.

Two great crescents of ivory curved from its head; its back swept
through the tossing tree-tops. Once it bellowed like a gun fired from
a high bastion.

The apparition passed with the noise of thunder rolling on towards the
ends of the earth. Crack! crash! went the trees, the tempest swept
away in a rolling volley of reports, distant, more distant, until,
long after the tumult had deadened, then ceased, the stunned forest
echoed with the fall of mangled branches slowly dropping.