CHAPTER X

GANESA

The sun was shining now, and dried us with its warmth. We were saved. And this joy compensated for all the sufferings we had endured.

The Prince dismounted; standing before me, he gazed gratefully upon me.

"Had it not been for thee," he said, "at this moment my head would be rolling in blood!

"During our flight our safety depended on each moment as it passed--not an instant could be spared--and I have only been able to thank thee in my heart. But now, before this shining Sun, I desire to express the feelings that thy devotion, thy heroism, have inspired in me. Oh! Iravata, had it pot been for thee, Saphire-of-Heaven, in robes of mourning, would have wept my death; without thee I should never have lived to behold my child! My name would have been dishonoured by a disgraceful death, my Kingdom conquered and ravaged--whereas, my life being saved, all can be regained. And this I owe to a being whom men deem inferior to themselves! Ah! the Princess of Siam was right. It is indeed a Royal Soul that is hidden in thy rough body!"

I was greatly embarrassed by so much praise: and I could not make it understood that if I had a "Soul," it was simply a good, plain, elephant soul--all full of affection for him who had been the first to treat me as a friend.

He stroked me softly with his hand, and gazing at me smiled kindly; while I by all the means in my power--flapping my ears--snorting--and shuffling my feet, expressed my delight.

"I swear to you," said the Prince, "that hereafter you shall always be treated as an equal, and looked upon as my best friend!...

"But let us move on; our enemies may return in force, now that my escape must be known to all."

We descended a steep hill, parallel with the waterfall, and found ourselves in a beautiful fertile plain, through which the river, grown tranquil and shallow, ran gently over a bed of rocks and pebbles. I was able to wade across with ease a short distance below the cataract, which fell, scattering itself in snowy foam, which the sunlight filled with sparkling rainbows. Here was the leap we had so nearly taken! One could but tremble to look at it, in spite of the loveliness with which Nature had adorned it.

I looked for the horseman who had been dashed to pieces there, but not a trace of him was left.

When we reached the other side we found the plain covered with fresh grass, growing in thick tufts. My Master told me to eat.

"See! there is a fine meal for you," said he, "which you should take advantage of at once. I am sorry that I cannot, like you, breakfast on green bushes!... For it is a long time since I have tasted food!"

But how could I eat when he was suffering the pangs of hunger? I continued on my way, as though I had not heard.

"I understand you well, Iravata," said the Prince. "You are refusing to eat because I am compelled to go fasting. But this will not do. I know the requirements of your vast stomach--those of men are more patient!"

I was above all tortured with thirst, and I drank my fill from the river.

"_Eat_", Iravata--"your stomach being empty will not fill mine!"

I pulled off here and there bunches of leaves and grass, but without stopping. I looked everywhere for signs of some houses or villages.

"That is useless," said the Prince, who devined my thoughts. "They robbed me of all I had, and did not leave me a diamond, or a rupee; and I am not yet so vanquished by misfortune as to be willing to beg! I have only succeeded in saving my royal Signet. The idea came to me to remove from my finger the ring on which it is engraved, and conceal it in my mouth. But I cannot barter this Seal, which will serve to identify me, for the sake of food. I must wait till we find people who are capable of understanding the significance of my ring, and who will furnish me with the means of reaching my Kingdom."

My Master was right. He could not sell his ring.

I hurried my steps to get out of this detestable prairie, which seemed to have no end. But though I travelled on and on, the same fresh grass and herbage surrounded us, with from time to time a few tall trees which bore no fruit; and not a sign of any human habitation was to be seen.

The Prince had gathered some large leaves with which to cover his head, and protect it from the burning rays of noon, and had also placed some on mine, knowing how the heat distresses us.

Some cultivated fields now appeared, and presently a group of giant bamboos, and in their midst an edifice of stone, in the form of a bee-hive.

"It is a Shrine," said Alemguir. "Let us not fail to render homage to the God it shelters, who meets us thus on our way, before going any further. Our prayers finished it will be well to rest ourselves in the shade of the trees."

What a surprise when I stood before the entrance of the Chapel! The stone God which appeared in the depths on a dais of velvet was a Man with the head of an Elephant!

"Ganesa! the God of Wisdom!" cried the Prince. "It is no chance that has brought us here before Him, to whom more than to all the others I should offer thanks!"

He knelt at the foot of the altar and prayed in a low voice. During this time I, who could not enter the small and narrow building, examined this strange God, who on the body of a Man bore a head like mine, and held the tip of his trunk in his right hand!

I could see the upper part of the altar which was hidden from my Master, being above his head. There were fresh offerings in plates and bowls--Oh! joy! Cakes, melted butter, and various fruits--enough to feed a man for three days!

My trunk reached the Altar. As the Prince finished his prayers I placed, one after another, the plates and dishes before him.

"Offerings!" cried he. "Certainly I would not venture to take them notwithstanding my extreme need; but offered by _thee_ I may not refuse; it seems as if the God himself bestowed them on me.... And perhaps thou art, thyself, _Ganesa_!"

I was not "Ganesa" but a very happy elephant. My Master ate; and there grew in this place all sorts of grasses and plants that were quite to my taste.

We slept during the hot hours of the day; and later we reached an inhabited place, which was evidently near, judging from the fresh offerings, and also from the odours which my acute sense of smell detected in the air.

It all seemed delicious, after what we had endured; and if it was, indeed, Ganesa who had helped us out of all our troubles, as the Prince seemed to think, I felt disposed to thank him most devoutly--and even to pray to him daily. For if it is possible for us to have a God--certainly it is Ganesa who should be the God of all Elephants....