Near its base, now upturned and standing almost vertically, was the elephant, no longer on its hind feet, nor yet on all fours, but down upon its back, kicking its huge hoofs in the air, and making the most stupendous efforts to recover its legs.

Ossaroo was nowhere to be seen! The contingency dreaded by Karl had come to pass.

The elephant, finding it impossible to reach the shikaree with its trunk--and no doubt judging by the "feel" that the rock was not immobile--had at length dropped down on all fours and, placing its broad shoulder against it, backed by the enormous weight of its bulky body, had sent the column crashing among the tops of a chestnut tree growing near--the trunk of which, yielding to the weight, gave way with a crash, and trunk, limbs, and branches were all borne downward to the earth! The elephant itself, not calculating that it should find the task so easy of performance, had fallen at the same time--its cumbrous body losing balance by the impetus which it had thrown into the effort.

In short, of the four objects that formed the tableau--rock and tree, quadruped and man--not one was standing any longer in its place--for it is superfluous to say that Ossaroo had gone down with the obelisk.
But where was Ossaroo?
That was the question that occurred to both Karl and Caspar.
"Oh! brother!" groaned Caspar, "I fear he is killed!" Karl made no reply; but for all that, Caspar's reflection, delivered in a loud tone, was not left without rejoinder.

Directly after the phrase had issued from his lips, an answer was heard proceeding from among the branches of the fallen chestnut tree, in a voice and with words that caused the hearts of the brothers to beat with joy.
"No, young sahibs," replied the unseen Ossaroo; "me no killee, me no bit damage.