He told how one night he awoke and found a leopard sniffing at his head as he lay sleeping on his veranda; and how he only saved his life by holding his breath and pretending to be dead. A leopard will not touch a dead person or animal. Another time he had seen the queer little "_Todas_," a race of people who live in the Nilgiri Hills in the far south and worship buffaloes, and say prayers while they are milking these sacred beasts, whose temples are their dairies. He knew, too, the wild, shy people of the jungle, who build their houses like nests in the trees, so as to be safe from prowling wild beasts. Once while hunting in the deep forest he had been caught in the huge coils of a terrible boa-constrictor, one of those great snakes that can crush an ox by winding themselves about it in great coils, or can swallow an antelope at one mouthful. The beater was only saved from the anger of the great snake by one of the other hunters coming up just at the right moment and killing it. He was a wonderful man, this old fellow with the long gray beard, as he sat by the fire chewing his "_betel_" nut and telling his neverending stories. The next morning all were up at daybreak, for they wanted to get an early start. One of the elephants had been rather ugly during the time when the men were packing the things on his back, and he was still in a bad temper when Harry came up with a piece of sugar for him. Instead of putting the sugar into the elephant's mouth, Harry accidentally dropped it on the ground. This made the elephant still more angry; and, as Harry stooped to pick up the sugar, he lifted his great foot and would have crushed the boy, who did not dream of the danger he was in. Suddenly Chola saw the danger, and rushing right up under the angry elephant's foot made those strange cries that the old head driver at his uncle's had taught him. It was the talk of the elephants among themselves as they roamed the jungle. It was like magic. The big foot came down gently without touching either of the boys, and the elephant, giving a peculiar cry, rubbed his trunk against Chola, just as the Colonel Sahib and every one came running up in terror, for they had seen it all and thought that the boys would surely be crushed to death. Chola was a great hero! You can imagine how the Colonel Sahib thanked him; and the natives looked at him with wonder and awe. "He is indeed one who is wise though young; for the wild animals talk with him as with a friend," said the old head beater, as he _salaamed_ down to Chola's feet. Harry did not say much until he and Chola were alone, and then he said: "Chola, I _did_ think you were a bit of a coward when we were talking in your uncle's garden; but I know now you are much braver than I, for I would never have dared to go up like that and order about an angry elephant." [Illustration: "SUDDENLY, UP OUT OF THE JUNGLE, THERE SPRANG A GREAT YELLOW TIGER."]