More trees stood in the middle of it , but the undergrowth and the jungle grass at the sides had been rolled back . Little Toomai stared once more . Now he understood the trampling . The elephants had stamped out more room -- had stamped the thick grass and juicy cane to trash , the trash into slivers , the slivers into tiny fibers , and the fibers into hard earth . `` Wah ! '' said Little Toomai , and his eyes were very heavy . `` Kala Nag , my lord , let us keep by Pudmini and go to Petersen Sahib 's camp , or I shall drop from thy neck . '' The third elephant watched the two go away , snorted , wheeled round , and took his own path . He may have belonged to some little native king 's establishment , fifty or sixty or a hundred miles away . Two hours later , as Petersen Sahib was eating early breakfast , his elephants , who had been double chained that night , began to trumpet , and Pudmini , mired to the shoulders , with Kala Nag , very footsore , shambled into the camp . Little Toomai 's face was gray and pinched , and his hair was full of leaves and drenched with dew , but he tried to salute Petersen Sahib , and cried faintly : `` The dance -- the elephant dance ! I have seen it , and -- I die ! '' As Kala Nag sat down , he slid off his neck in a dead faint . But , since native children have no nerves worth speaking of , in two hours he was lying very contentedly in Petersen Sahib 's hammock with Petersen Sahib 's shooting-coat under his head , and a glass of warm milk , a little brandy , with a dash of quinine , inside of him , and while the old hairy , scarred hunters of the jungles sat three deep before him , looking at him as though he were a spirit , he told his tale in short words , as a child will , and wound up with : `` Now , if I lie in one word , send men to see , and they will find that the elephant folk have trampled down more room in their dance-room , and they will find ten and ten , and many times ten , tracks leading to that dance-room . They made more room with their feet . I have seen it . Kala Nag took me , and I saw . Also Kala Nag is very leg-weary ! '' Little Toomai lay back and slept all through the long afternoon and into the twilight , and while he slept Petersen Sahib and Machua Appa followed the track of the two elephants for fifteen miles across the hills . Petersen Sahib had spent eighteen years in catching elephants , and he had only once before found such a dance-place .
Machua XXXXX had no need to look twice at the clearing to see what had been done there , or to scratch with his toe in the packed , rammed earth .
Appa Toomai afternoon hours night quinine slivers third twilight years