It was late evening, but I didn't want to waste a moment.
I saddled Swift and prepared to go to the aid of the boys.
"Ernest, you and Mother should follow me tomorrow in the little cart," I said.
"Bring everything we'll need for camping out."
The bright moonlight made my journey easy.
When I arrived, the boys were delighted because they had not expected me until the next day.
The following morning we went out to inspect the damage.
Thick posts in the Gap fence had been snapped like twigs.
Nearby trees were stripped of leaves and branches.
But the worst mischief had taken place in the sugarcane field.
The young plants had all either been devoured, or trampled and destroyed.
"Only one animal could have done this," I said.
"The elephant. And judging by the number of footprints, a whole troop of elephants has invaded our territory."
But as we examined the footprints, I noticed that they also went back through the Gap.
"I don't think any of them are hiding in our woods," I concluded.
"Then if we build an even stronger fence, we can keep them out," said Fritz.
Mother and Ernest arrived later in the day.
My wife made light of the damage done by the elephants.
She was just happy to find everyone safe.
But building a stronger fence was a big project. It took us a month.
During that time we replaced our tent with a sturdy tree house.
We chose four trees that grew in a square.
About twenty feet from the ground, we built a platform.
We covered the sides with bamboo and the roof with bark.
Below the house, we made space for our birds and animals.
The black swans were soon tame and friendly.
Constantly roaming through the woods, the boys often made new discoveries.
One day Fritz brought back some bananas and some cocoa beans.
"How do you eat a banana?" asked little Franz.
I peeled one and handed it to him. "Try it," I said.
He took a bite and spit it out. "Oh, it tastes like rotten pear!"
Jack tried the cocoa beans with no more success.
"Too bitter!" he exclaimed.
"Are you sure this is the plant that produces chocolate?"
"I understand that you have to properly prepare it," said Ernest.
"It would be lovely to have hot chocolate for breakfast," my wife said to me.
"Could you bring back some seedlings and grow some cocoa for me at Rockburg?"
"We could try," I said.
"Let's gather some banana seedlings too," she said.
"Perhaps we'll acquire a taste for that fruit."
The day before our return to Rockburg, Fritz went out to gather the plants.
He took the kayak and a bundle of reeds to float behind it like a raft.
That evening his brothers rushed to meet him on the riverbank.
The raft was loaded down with cargo.
Ernest and Franz came running up the bank with their arms filled with plants.
Fritz handed Jack a dripping wet bag.
Jack took it and ran behind a bush.
"What monsters they are!" Fritz exclaimed.
My wife and I looked at each other. We had no idea what he was talking about.
After supper Fritz explained.
"From the river I saw some huge, dark masses moving slowly among the trees.
What do you think they were?"
"Black bears?" guessed Jack.
"From your description, I'd say elephants," said Ernest.
"Right you are!" replied Fritz.
"About twenty elephants were tearing down branches with their trunks and shoving them into their mouths."
"Weren't you afraid?" asked little Franz.
"The river was very wide so I felt safe from wild animals.
More than once I saw some splendid jaguars sunbathing on the banks.
Then on my return home, the water suddenly started to bubble furiously in front of me.
Up rose the hideous head of a hippopotamus!"
"What did you do?" asked Mother.
"I didn't wait to see the rest of him. I paddled home as fast as I could."
The next morning we returned to Rockburg. Fritz made the trip by kayak.
Jack carried Fritz's mysterious wet bag, which he deposited in the swamp.
Towards evening we sat on the porch talking.
Suddenly an extraordinary sound came from the swamp!
The dogs barked and the family jumped up in excitement.
"That sounds like a bull bellowing!" I said.
Jack rushed off toward the marsh.
"Come back!" cried Mother.
"Don't worry," said Fritz with a smile.
Jack soon returned, lugging the wet bag.
"They were supposed to grow as big as rabbits before you saw them.
But I guess I'll have to show them to you now.
Everyone, meet Grace and Beauty."
He opened the bag and out hopped two immense bullfrogs.