legs would not take the trouble to run after him with bunches of fire
unless they wanted him to run away somewhere, to some particular
place. And so, after the first few, heavy, swinging steps, the
reflection of the fire behind him showed him the outline of a _keddah_
just in front, and with a shrill roar of rage Rataplan turned suddenly
and fiercely round, dashed headlong through the line of fire, and,
with a mighty trumpeting, disappeared into the forest.

So sudden and unexpected had been his onslaught that he had put out
quite half a dozen of the bunches of fire: he had also put out the
lives of the six, silly, little things who carried them. For a few
swift pressures of his mighty feet had squeezed out their breath and
destroyed their power to invent mischief with which to entrap the
Rogue elephant.

For some time after this Rataplan had been more mad and wicked than
ever. He knew perfectly well that he had killed a few of the fire-
carriers, and he fully intended to kill a few more before he had done
with them. But they were very cunning, these fire-carriers, and,
although he had nearly caught a few of them, once or twice, they had
generally escaped him when quite close by suddenly disappearing, and
this caused Rataplan many serious cogitations and musings.

Wicked and clever as he was, he had only the instincts of his kind.
All his senses were alert, and his eyes looked for enemies in all
directions but one, and that one direction was above. He never looked
up, and it never occurred to his stupid, old head, sharp as he thought
himself, that the little fire-carriers might have climbed up into the
trees above him. When they disappeared from his range of vision he
gave up the chase, although, more often than not, the wicked, little