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Authors: Willard Price
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nine feet.’
So they opened the door and took their guest with them into his new home.
Then they let go of his trunk and he immediately swung it to knock all three of them down on the floor. With a scream of rage he crashed into the wall which, since this was only a barn after all, was made of boards. The boards broke, the splinters flew, the angry beast plunged through, ambled down the road muttering deep in his throat, and Hal and Roger who had just arrived saw him return to his cage. Then he saw Roger and as the boy came to him, Big Fella put his trunk round him and whispered little grunts and wheezes that said he was glad to be home.
‘Now I know who,’ said Hal. Those three crooks. But why in the world did they want that elephant?’
Chapter 13
Lion Lost
Someone was pounding at the door of the barn-house.
Vic opened the door. He faced a very angry-looking Indian. He owned the place and had rented it to the boys.
‘1 noticed that you have a great big hole in the wall. How did you manage to make that?’
‘We didn’t make it,’ Vic said. The elephant belonging to the Hunts did it.’
Then the Hunts will have to pay for it.’
That’s right. You go and see the Hunts. They’re always causing trouble. You make them come and repair that hole. I hope it costs them a lot.’
There’s just one thing I don’t understand,’ said the landlord. ‘All the broken pieces and chips are on the outside. If the elephant broke in there all that stuff would be inside, not outside.’
‘It was inside,’ said Vic, ‘but we threw it all outside. We didn’t want that mess in our living-room.’
‘You did the right thing,’ said the landlord. ‘How did you get the elephant out?’
Through the door.’
‘I see his muddy footprints on the floor.’ The landlord examined the prints carefully. Then he looked suspiciously at the boys. ‘You can’t fool me. Those prints show that the elephant was not going from the hole to the door. Instead, he was going from the door to the hole. You must have brought that elephant in through the door. Into my house. For some reason you wanted to hide him.’ He wagged his head back and forth as he figured out what must have happened. ‘You stole him from the Hunts. You brought him in here so no one could see what you had done. The elephant didn’t break in, he broke out. So you are responsible. Repairs will cost you one thousand rupees. And since you tried to fool me, I’ll just tack another thousand on to that. I’ll thank you for two thousand rupees.’
Vic wished he had told the truth. It would have cost less. Lying can be quite expensive.
‘Okay,’ he said. ‘Don’t you worry - we’ll pay you. You’ll have to wait a little while. We have no money, but some will be coming in, if you will just be patient.’
The boys looked so unhappy that the landlord decided to go easy with them.
‘I don’t think you fellows are very clever. But perhaps you are clever enough to hammer a few boards over that hole. All you have to do is buy the boards - they won’t cost much. That would be better than waiting for you to pay me two thousand rupees - I don’t believe I’d ever get it. Fix it yourselves. If you don’t, perhaps the police can persuade you.’
The boys didn’t like that word, ‘police’. Besides, the cold wind blowing in through that elephant-size hole was not too comfortable. So they accepted the landlord’s kind suggestion.
‘Next week we’ll do it,’ Vic said. It would never have occurred to Vic to do what needed to be done this week, this day, instead of putting it off until a later time.
He blamed the Hunts. If they hadn’t acquired that elephant the three crooks would not have been able to steal ft. So the Hunts were to blame for the whole thing.
The three boys drove their Land-Rover down to the Hunt camp. Vic went into the cabin and got one of Hal’s lassos. He tied one end to the car. Then they went quietly, very cautiously, to the cage that
So they opened the door and took their guest with them into his new home.
Then they let go of his trunk and he immediately swung it to knock all three of them down on the floor. With a scream of rage he crashed into the wall which, since this was only a barn after all, was made of boards. The boards broke, the splinters flew, the angry beast plunged through, ambled down the road muttering deep in his throat, and Hal and Roger who had just arrived saw him return to his cage. Then he saw Roger and as the boy came to him, Big Fella put his trunk round him and whispered little grunts and wheezes that said he was glad to be home.
‘Now I know who,’ said Hal. Those three crooks. But why in the world did they want that elephant?’
Chapter 13
Lion Lost
Someone was pounding at the door of the barn-house.
Vic opened the door. He faced a very angry-looking Indian. He owned the place and had rented it to the boys.
‘1 noticed that you have a great big hole in the wall. How did you manage to make that?’
‘We didn’t make it,’ Vic said. The elephant belonging to the Hunts did it.’
Then the Hunts will have to pay for it.’
That’s right. You go and see the Hunts. They’re always causing trouble. You make them come and repair that hole. I hope it costs them a lot.’
There’s just one thing I don’t understand,’ said the landlord. ‘All the broken pieces and chips are on the outside. If the elephant broke in there all that stuff would be inside, not outside.’
‘It was inside,’ said Vic, ‘but we threw it all outside. We didn’t want that mess in our living-room.’
‘You did the right thing,’ said the landlord. ‘How did you get the elephant out?’
Through the door.’
‘I see his muddy footprints on the floor.’ The landlord examined the prints carefully. Then he looked suspiciously at the boys. ‘You can’t fool me. Those prints show that the elephant was not going from the hole to the door. Instead, he was going from the door to the hole. You must have brought that elephant in through the door. Into my house. For some reason you wanted to hide him.’ He wagged his head back and forth as he figured out what must have happened. ‘You stole him from the Hunts. You brought him in here so no one could see what you had done. The elephant didn’t break in, he broke out. So you are responsible. Repairs will cost you one thousand rupees. And since you tried to fool me, I’ll just tack another thousand on to that. I’ll thank you for two thousand rupees.’
Vic wished he had told the truth. It would have cost less. Lying can be quite expensive.
‘Okay,’ he said. ‘Don’t you worry - we’ll pay you. You’ll have to wait a little while. We have no money, but some will be coming in, if you will just be patient.’
The boys looked so unhappy that the landlord decided to go easy with them.
‘I don’t think you fellows are very clever. But perhaps you are clever enough to hammer a few boards over that hole. All you have to do is buy the boards - they won’t cost much. That would be better than waiting for you to pay me two thousand rupees - I don’t believe I’d ever get it. Fix it yourselves. If you don’t, perhaps the police can persuade you.’
The boys didn’t like that word, ‘police’. Besides, the cold wind blowing in through that elephant-size hole was not too comfortable. So they accepted the landlord’s kind suggestion.
‘Next week we’ll do it,’ Vic said. It would never have occurred to Vic to do what needed to be done this week, this day, instead of putting it off until a later time.
He blamed the Hunts. If they hadn’t acquired that elephant the three crooks would not have been able to steal ft. So the Hunts were to blame for the whole thing.
The three boys drove their Land-Rover down to the Hunt camp. Vic went into the cabin and got one of Hal’s lassos. He tied one end to the car. Then they went quietly, very cautiously, to the cage that
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