noon
Hour after hour they walked through the tangle of vegetation , striking into fresh paths , twisting and turning until the boys felt hopelessly lost . Great ferns and mosses grew about them . Mighty trees with trunks corrugated and knotted towered overhead , draped with Spanish moss and filled with scampering , chattering monkeys . Into and across tree-ferned ravines , through dashing streams of icy water , past cataract and morass , the party plowed its devious way until long past noon . Suddenly one of the guides held up a warning hand and slipped ahead . In a few moments he returned in great excitement . `` Elephant ! ''