"Did you see a herd of elephants?" asked Umboo eagerly.

"No, I didn't exactly see them," answered Mr. Rhino, "but about two
showers ago I heard a big noise in the jungle back of me, and perhaps
that was the elephant herd."

Mr. Rhino said "two showers ago," instead of "two hours," you see,
because the jungle animals have no clocks or watches, and they tell
time by the sun, or by the number of rain-showers in a day. And Umboo
knew that very well, so he knew about how long ago it was that the
rhinoceros had heard the loud sounds of which he spoke.

"Oh, so you heard the elephants, did you?" exclaimed Umboo. "I am glad
of that. Now I'll hurry off and find them. Thank you for telling me."

"Oh, that's all right," politely answered the rhinoceros. "I hope you
find your mother and other friends. Good-bye!"

He wiggled his horn at Umboo, who waved his trunk with the palm tree
branch in it, and once more, off through the jungle started the
elephant boy.

On and on he went. But either he did not go the right way, or two
showers ago was longer than either he or the rhinoceros thought, for
Umboo did not even smell the other elephants, much less see them or
hear them.

"Oh, dear!" thought Umboo again. "I'm surely lost as bad as before!
What shall I do?"