; the other
showing the regular holes, and being wet and muddy in the extreme.

"All right," thought the lad. "That must be the way down to the river
where t'others have gone for their bath. Right!" he cried, as the
elephant raised the basket again and inclined his head slowly as if to
follow the muddy path, from some distance down which came the grunting
of the other elephants, when, in his excitement, Peter uttered a savage
"Yah-h!"

This did as well as the purest Malay order meaning to the left, for the
elephant turned his head in the other direction at once, and then
planting his great feet carefully in the fairly dry holes, he began to
follow the greener path.

_Squash_--_suck_--_squash_--_suck_, on and on through the forest shades,
and as the boughs of the jungle trees hung over here and there lower and
lower in the great tunnel of greenery, so cramped in size that there
seemed to be only just room for the elephant to pass along, Peter kept
on looking back nervously, half-expecting to see his companion swept
away from his precarious perch.

CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT.

PHOONK!

"I'm getting better fast, Pete," cried Archie Maine, his voice sounding
clearly above the _suck, suck_ of the elephant's feet in the deep old
tracks, and the _whisk, whisk_ of the green cane-sprouts that shot out
on either side from the wall of verdure.

"That's right, sir. You do comfort me. I've been thinking that it
wasn't fair of me to be riding comfortable here while you've got nothing
but a bit of rope to hold on by except your balance. But, I say, it
ain't all best down here, for, my eye, ain't it 'ot!--quite steamy."

"Yes; this tunnel is steamy and hot," replied Archie.

"Oh, I don't mean the tunnel, sir. I mean Rajah's neck and these two
great fly-flaps of his keeping all the wind out. I tried lifting up one
of them, but I suppose it tiddled him--fancied he had got a big fly
about him, I suppose. I say, Mister Archie, ain't it prime! He don't
seem to be going fast, but, my word, with these long legs of his how he
does get over the ground! But, I say, look ye here; wouldn't this be a
jolly place if we was out for a holiday, instead of being like on
furlough without leave?"

"It's beautiful," said Archie; for after they had travelled for some
time in deep shadow, completely covered in, the jungle suddenly opened
out, and their way was now between two perpendicular walls of dense
green verdure. Just in front a c