“Oh!  Baas, pray be silent,” answered Hans, “or he will understand and fetch one.”

Although the idea seemed absurd, on the whole I thought it well to take the hint, for who knew how much this experienced beast did or did not understand?  Then, as we could go no higher, we wriggled as far as we dared along our boughs and waited.

Presently Jana, having finished his clearing operations, began to lengthen his trunk to its full measure.  Literally, it seemed to expand like a telescope or an indiarubber ring.  Out it came, foot after foot, till its snapping tip was waving within a few inches of us, just short of my foot and Han’s head, or rather felt hat.  One final stretch and he reached the hat, which he removed with a flourish and thrust into the red cavern of his mouth.  As it appeared no more I suppose he ate it.  This loss of his hat moved Hans to fury.  Hurling horrible curses at Jana he drew his butcher’s knife and made ready.

Once more the sinuous brown trunk elongated itself.  Evidently Jana had got a better hold with his hind legs this time, or perhaps had actually wriggled himself a few inches up the tree.  At any rate I saw to my dismay that there was every prospect of my making a second acquaintance with that snapping tip.  The end of the trunk was lying along my bough like a huge brown snake and creeping up, up, up.

“He’ll get us,” I muttered.

Hans said nothing but leaned forward a little, holding on with his left hand.  Next instant in the light of the rising sun I saw a knife flash, saw also that the point of it had been driven through the lower lip of Jana’s trunk, pinning it to the bough like a butterfly to a board.

My word! what a commotion ensued!  Up the trunk came a scream which nearly blew me away.  Then Jana, with a wriggling motion, tried to unnail himself as gently as possible, for it was clear that the knife point hurt him, but could not do so because Hans still held the handle and had driven the blade deep into the wood.  Lastly he dragged himself downwards with such energy that something had to go, that something being the skin and muscle of the lower lip, which was cut clean through, leaving the knife erect in the bough.

Over he went backwards, a most imperial cropper.  Then he picked himself up, thrust the tip of his trunk into his mouth, sucked it as one does a cut finger, and finally, roaring in defeated rage, fled into the river, which he waded, and back upon his tracks towards his own home.  Yes, off he went, Hans screaming curses and demands that he should restore his hat to him, and very seldom in all my life have I seen a sight that I thought more beautiful than that of his whisking tail.

“Now, Baas,” chuckled Hans, “the old devil has got a sore nose as well as a sore eye by which to remember us.  And, Baas, I think we had better be going before he has time to think and comes back with a long stick to knock us out of this tree.”