Page:Ballantyne--The Battery and the Boiler.djvu/331

 long down whin a rustle in the laves towld me that somethin' was comin', an' sure enough down trotted a little deer—as purty a thing as you could wish to see. It took a dhrink, tremblin' all the time, an' there was good cause, for another rustlin' was heard. Off wint the deer, just as a panther o' some sort jumped out o' the jungle an' followed it. Bad luck go wid ye! says I; but I 'd scarce said it whin a loud crashing in the jungle towld me a buffalo or an elephant was comin'. It was an elephant. He wint an' took a long pull at the pool. After that he goes straight to the post. Ha! says I, it 's an owld friend o' yours, I see. When he putt his great side agin' it, for the purpose of scratchin', he got a shock from my electrical contrivance that caused his tail to stand upon end, and the hairs at its point to quiver. Wid a grunt he stood back an' gave the post a look o' surprise, as much as to say. Did ye do that a-purpose, ye spalpeen? Then he tried it again, an' got another shock that sot up his dander, for he twisted his long nose round the post, goin' to pull it down, no doubt, but he got another shock on the nose that made him squeal an' draw back. Then he lowered his great head for a charge. It's all over wid ye now, me post, says I; but the baste changed its mind, and wint off wid its tail an' trunk in the air, trump etin' as if it had gob the toothache. Well, after that nothin'