d beast after all."

The monster rose at his command, and stood blinking at him and swinging
his trunk to and fro.

"Mind, sir!" shouted Ramball, who had been looking on anxiously. "Don't
you trust him. He's brewing mischief. He always is when he looks quiet
like that; and the way he can knock you over with that trunk--my word!"

"Oh, he's not going to knock me over with his trunk," said Singh,
smiling; and, uttering a few words in Hindustani, he stood close up to
the elephant and reached one hand up to its great ear and laid the other
upon its trunk.

"Salaam, Maharajah!" he cried, and the animal threw up its head, curled
up its trunk, and trumpeted loudly, before going down upon its knees
before the lad.

"Good! Up again!" cried Singh in Hindustani, and added a few more
words, the result of which was that the monster stood calmly by its
great picket-peg, making its chain jingle as it began slowly swaying its
head from side to side again.

"Well done, sir!" cried Ramball. "Thank you, sir. You'll shake hands
with me, won't you?"

"Oh yes," said Singh quietly; "I'll shake hands," and he extended his
own.

"You are a gentleman and no mistake," cried the man. "I say, think that
offer of mine over. I'll make it worth your while. I will, honour
bright!"

Singh shook his head gravely, and there was a mocking smile upon his
lip.

"No, no, thank you," he said. "I am going back to school, and some day
back to India; but I should like to come and see you and the elephant
again."

"Of course you would, sir, and come you shall," cried Ramball.
"Perpetual passes! You don't want no pass. Just you show your face
here, both of you, whenever you like, and bring as many of your
schoolmates with you too, and you will be as welcome as the flowers of
May. Look here, young gentlemen, I am going to keep the show open here
for three days, and then we go off to my farm three miles out of the
town to lay up for a bit of rest and do repairs, and get the animals
into condition, before we take the road again. You come and see me
there, and pick out what you'd like to have, monkeys or parrots, as I
said. I don't offer you anything big, because I don't suppose you could
keep it at school; but I have got some of the amusingest little monkeys
you ever see, and a parrot as can talk--when he likes, mind you,"
continued the man, laying a fat finger against his nose, "and that ain't
always. But when he is in the temper for i