d procured as much _meat_ as was
necessary. This had been carefully cured by Ossaroo, and formed the
staple of their daily food. Only upon rare occasions were the guns
afterwards used to procure a little fresh provision--such as a brace of
wild duets from the lake, or one of the smaller game animals which could
be found almost any morning within gunshot distance of the hut. For
these reasons many parts of the valley had been left unvisited; and it
was deemed possible enough for even a great elephant to have been all
the time dwelling within its boundaries, unseen by any of the party.
Indulging in these conjectures, all three remained awake for more than
an hour; but as the subject of their speculations appeared to have gone
altogether away, they gradually came to the conclusion that he was not
going to return at least for that night--and their confidence being thus
restored, they once more betook themselves to sleep--resolved in future
to keep a sharp lookout for the dangerous neighbour that had so
unexpectedly presented himself to their view.

CHAPTER SEVEN.

RE-STOCKING THE GUNS.

Next morning all three were astir betimes, and out of the hut by the
earliest light of day. Karl and Caspar were anxious to obtain more
definite information about the elephant, whose existence Ossaroo was
still inclined to doubt. Indeed, with the exception of the three or
four shrieking whistles to which the animal had given utterance, so
silently and mysteriously had he come and departed, that they might
almost have fancied the whole thing a dream.

But such an immense creature could not move about, without leaving some
traces of his presence; and as he had crossed the stream, or rather a
little embayment of the lake into which the stream emptied itself, no
doubt his tracks would be found on the sandy shore.

As soon, therefore, as the day broke, all three started for the spot
where the creature had been seen to cross.

On reaching it, they could no longer doubt that an elephant had paid
them a visit. Huge footprints--nearly as big as the bottom of a bushel
measure--were deeply indented in the soft sand; and looking across the
"straits" (for so they were in the habit of calling the narrow mouth of
the bay), they could see other similar tracks on the opposite shore,
where the animal had waded out.

Ossaroo was no longer doubtful as to the character of the creature that
had made those tracks. He had hunted elephants in the