Then I made it fast to the tree and, taking King in my right arm, started to work my way along it.

It was just as well I did that, and got clear of the branch; for the mahouts passed the rope around the elephant's neck and set him to hauling; he rolled the tree over and over, and that would surely have been the end of King and me if we had been within reach of the overturning branches.
As it was I clung to the rope and the elephant hauled the lot of us high and dry..