The Jungle Book, part 18 · page 21 2101The screw-guns are tiny little cannon made in two pieces, that are screwed together when the time comes to use them.102They are taken up mountains, anywhere that a mule can find a road, and they are very useful for fighting in rocky country.103Behind the mule there was a camel, with his big soft feet squelching and slipping in the mud, and his neck bobbing to and fro like a strayed hen’s.104Luckily, I knew enough of beast language--not wild-beast language, but camp-beast language, of course--from the natives to know what he was saying.105He must have been the one that flopped into my tent, for he called to the mule, “What shall I do?106Where shall I go?107I have fought with a white thing that waved, and it took a stick and hit me on the neck.”108(That was my broken tent pole, and I was very glad to know it.)109“Shall we run on?”110“Oh, it was you,” said the mule, “you and your friends, that have been disturbing the camp?111All right.112You’ll be beaten for this in the morning.113But I may as well give you something on account now.”114I heard the harness jingle as the mule backed and caught the camel two kicks in the ribs that rang like a drum.115“Another time,” he said, “you’ll know better than to run through a mule battery at night, shouting `Thieves and fire!’116Sit down, and keep your silly neck quiet.”117The camel doubled up camel-fashion, like a two-foot rule, and sat down whimpering.118There was a regular beat of hoofs in the darkness, and a big troop-horse cantered up as steadily as though he were on parade, jumped a gun tail, and landed close to the mule.119“It’s disgraceful,” he said, blowing out his nostrils.120“Those camels have racketed through our lines again--the third time this week.121How’s a horse to keep his condition if he isn’t allowed to sleep.122Who’s here?”123“I’m the breech-piece mule of number two gun of the First Screw Battery,” said the mule, “and the other’s one of your friends.124He’s waked me up too.125Who are you?”126“Number Fifteen, E troop, Ninth Lancers--Dick Cunliffe’s horse.127Stand over a little, there.”128“Oh, beg your pardon,” said the mule.129“It’s too dark to see much.130Aren’t these camels too sickening for anything?131I walked out of my lines to get a little peace and quiet here.”132“My lords,” said the camel humbly, “we dreamed bad dreams in the night, and we were very much afraid.133I am only a baggage camel of the 39th Native Infantry, and I am not as brave as you are, my lords.”134“Then why didn’t you stay and carry baggage for the 39th Native Infantry, instead of running all round the camp?” said the mule.135“They were such very bad dreams,” said the camel.136“I am sorry.137Listen!138What is that?139Shall we run on again?”140“Sit down,” said the mule, “or you’ll snap your long stick-legs between the guns.”141He cocked one ear and listened.142“Bullocks!” he said.143“Gun bullocks.144On my word, you and your friends have waked the camp very thoroughly.145It takes a good deal of prodding to put up a gun-bullock.”146I heard a chain dragging along the ground, and a yoke of the great sulky white bullocks that drag the heavy siege guns when the elephants won’t go any nearer to the firing, came shouldering along together.147And almost stepping on the chain was another battery mule, calling wildly for “Billy.”1 2← previousThe Jungle Book, part 17next →The Jungle Book, part 19↑ back to The Jungle BookThis page in Markdown → https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg236/18/page/2/