Such footmarks as were now under his eyes could not have been made by a mere visionary animal, but only by a real elephant in the flesh.
"And one of the biggest kind," asserted the shikaree, now speaking in full confidence, and declaring, at the same time, that he could tell its height to an inch.
"How can you do that ?" asked Caspar, in some surprise.
"Me berra easy tell, young sahib," replied Ossaroo; "only need takee size ob de rogue's foot.

Dis way, sahibs." Saying this, the shikaree drew forth from one of his pockets a piece of string; and, choosing one of the tracks which had made the clearest impression, he carefully applied the string around its outer edge.

In this way the circumference of the elephant's foot was obtained.
"Now, sahibs," said Ossaroo, holding the string between his fingers-- that portion of it which had been applied around the footprint--"_twice_ the length of dis reachee to the top of he shoulder; that how Ossaroo know he biggee elephant." The circumference of the foot thus measured being nearly six feet, it would follow, from the rule laid down by the shikaree, that the elephant in question was nearly twelve feet high; and this Karl knew to be one of the largest.

Nor did Karl question the correctness of the deduction: for he had often heard, from hunters whose word was not to be doubted, that the height of an elephant is exactly twice the circumference of his foot.
Ossaroo, having now yielded up his belief--that the elephant was one of his gods in disguise--declared with full confidence that the animal was a _rogue_.

Karl needed no explanation of what was meant by this.