They set out on a leisurely return to the little safari, accompanied for a few miles by the soldierly Zulus. They were well received by the natives, for except in a few spots of Africa, there is to-day nothing but respect for the whites; the dangers of early explorations have largely passed away under the influence of the far-reaching prestige of civilization. The natives are as savage as ever, but they have tasted the retribution of English and German justice, and have little liking for it. The four trotted along, Gholab making arrangements with the natives at each village to give them a large supply of fruit and vegetables, but they did no shooting as it was possible to get sheep, goats, or fowl from the natives and fish from the streams and pools. They had timed their ride to get back to the doctor in the evening, and on the morning of their last day's march they came upon a large party of natives setting off into the jungle. "Want to go along?" smiled the explorer. "Judging from their primitive digging implements, they're going to make an elephant pit." "You bet!" cried the boys. Slipping from their horses, which were left in charge of Gholab Singh, all three joined the natives, who received them with delight, and all set off along an old elephant track. "Guess they think we'll bring 'em good luck," grinned Jack. "Got your camera, Chuck?" Charlie fortunately had brought it, and an hour later he put it into active operation, to the curiosity and childish amusement of the negroes. They had stopped in a little open space full of fresh spoor and elephant signs, and a score of natives were instantly at work clearing off the ground at three points. The boys were amazed at the rapidity with which the work was accomplished with the primitive implements. Chanting a loud, monotonous chorus, the natives threw themselves into the work and speedily had three pits started. These were about four feet wide and twelve long at the top. "It's against the law for them to kill elephants," said Schoverling, "but they pay little enough heed to that. There are hundreds of these pits scattered between here and Kenia." "How do they watch them all?" asked Charlie. "They must have an awful time keeping track of their trap-line!" "They don't watch them," laughed the explorer. "They wait till they see the vultures and jackals heading somewhere, and trail along. An elephant lives for days after he is trapped, for you'll see that the pits narrow down at the bottom, and his feet are wedged in so that he can't move." "He must be pretty ripe by the time they get to him," returned Jack disgustedly. "They don't care for that. These Ndorobo are little better than carrion feeders anyway, and once an elephant is caught a whole village is stocked in meat for a long time."