Issue link: http://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/433799
S P O R T I N G C L A S S I C S 1 3 1 If he discovered that one was there but not close, he would simply slip back into the forest and go to another field. If it was close enough to pose a threat, however, he would charge instantly and furiously, and when he had taken care of the pesky thing, he could feed in peace. He truly hated the two-legged creatures. There was an absolute infestation of the things. Another time, on his way back to the mountain, he had come across a group of small ones sitting cross-legged in rows in front of one of their buildings, and scattered them in terror when he charged into their midst. How they screamed! He had thrown back his head and trumpeted as they scattered from the schoolyard like leaves before a storm. He could show the puny things who was the biggest, most fearsome creature around! Sometimes when he had been to the fields, the creatures tried to follow him, but they were slow and noisy and weak and tired easily. When he discovered that he was being followed, he would just walk away from them until they stopped. Sometimes it took a day or two or even three, but as long as he walked, they couldn't catch up to him and he was safe. When they gave up, he would circle back to his refuge on the mountain. Until the next time. S EVERAL MILES from the mountain, Ezekiel had a small house in the flatlands. It was a real house, befitting a chief, and not a stick-and-mud rondavel like most of his people had. He was there on the morning when he first got word that the elephant bull with the bad attitude had returned. It had recently killed—perhaps for the second time, but Ezekiel wasn't sure because it was hard to be certain about such things as the identity of an elephant. "Where?" "Was it the big one with the askari? Or the smaller one that walks alone? How did he make the kill? Which direction did he go when he was done?" When he had gathered all the details that the messenger could give, Ezekiel made a cup of coffee and pondered the matter for a while before summoning In just a few short hours these villagers from the settlement pictured on the opposite page reduced the author's rogue elephant to a matter of bones. Even parts of the intestines were gathered for storing water. opposite: PH Gordon Stark sits next to the villager's compound, awaiting a report of the rogue's presence.