country, the which had in the middle of it a boss of the same hide as the shield itself, to wit, of an elephant's ear, as was afterwards learnt from certain Guineas who saw it; for they said that they made all their shields of the hide of that animal, and that they found it so much thicker than was necessary[AU] that they cut off from it more than half, lessening it with devices they had made for this purpose. And the same men said, moreover, that the size of the elephants was so great that the flesh of one would make a good meal for 2,500 men, and that this meat they reckoned among themselves to be very good, and that they made no use of the tusks, but threw them away; and I learnt that in the East of this part of the Mediterranean Sea[N144] the tusks of one of those elephants were well worth 1,000 doubloons. And when they had captured those young prisoners and articles of plunder, they took them forthwith to their boat. "Well were it," said Stevam Affonso to the others, "if we were to go through this country near here, to see if we can find the father and mother of these children, for, judging by their age and disposition, it cannot be that the parents would leave them and go far off." The others said that he should go, with good luck, wherever he pleased, for there was nothing to prevent them following him. And after they had journeyed a short way, Stevam Affonso began to hear the blows of an axe, or of some other iron instrument, with which some one was carpentering upon a piece of timber, and he stopped a little to assure himself of what he had heard, and put the others into the same attention. And then they all recognised that they were near what they sought. "Now," said he, "do you come behind and allow me to go in front, because, if we all move forward in company, however softly we walk, we shall be discovered without fail, so that ere we come at him, whosoever he be, if alone, he must needs fly and put himself in safety; but if I go softly and crouching down, I shall be able to capture him by a sudden surprise without his perceiving me; but do not be so slow of pace that you will come late to my aid, where perhaps I may be in such danger as to need you." [Footnote AS: Lit., would be.] [Footnote AT: Of God.] [Footnote AU: For a shield.]