Free Stalking Ivory by Suzanne Arruda

along its length and another at the end. She next tossed the looped end over a stout branch, slipped the entire coil through it, and pulled. With the rope firmly attached to the branch, they could use the other loops as hand-and footholds to climb.
    Chiumbo went first. Jade waited until he was in the branch before she tied her day pack to the rope. After Chiumbo hauled up the pack, he lowered the rope again for Jade to climb. Both of them managed to get into the tree without making undue noise, but Jade wasn’t sure the elephants would have paid it any mind anyway. The beasts were clearly absorbed in watching their leader.
    From her perch, Jade could barely see the old cow for all the Spanish moss hanging in her way, so she climbed up another tier of branches for a better view. The matriarch kept sweeping her trunk across the trail in front of her, each pass removing a layer of leaf litter. When the leaves had been cleared away, she started dragging away sticks, first small ones, then larger. Jade watched, fascinated, then signaled to Chiumbo to hand up her camera. This was too good to miss. What is the old girl digging up? An old blind?
    To her amazement, a gaping hole appeared as the cow hauled away a slender branch. Jade focused and took her photograph. The cow had detected a trap dug in the middle of their trail and deftly uncovered it. From her perch, Jade could see several sharpened stakes in the bottom of the pit, intended to impale the victim, and judging from the size of the hole, elephants were the victim of choice. Once the leader exposed the entire dimensions of the trap, she stepped aside while each of the other cows and the younger bulls took turns inspecting it. Then the entire herd simply walked around the pit and continued on its way.
    Good heavens, thought Jade. If the elephants hadn’t uncovered the trap, she and Chiumbo might have fallen in and been speared. “Come on,” she said, “we need to do something about that pit.”
    Jade scrambled back to the bottom branch, and after lowering the pack with the rope, she removed the rope and let it drop to the ground. She couldn’t afford to leave the rope behind. They’d need it to get in and out of the pit safely. Chiumbo voiced her thoughts before she could.
    “We must pull up the stakes, Simba Jike,” he said. “The elephants will stay away, but other animals might fall in.”
    “I wish we could fill it in,” added Jade, “but the poachers probably spread the dirt around rather than leaving it in a pile for the animals to see. Blaney Percival told me about these pit traps, but I never expected to see one.”
    She tied the rope to a nearby tree, letting the loose end dangle into the pit. Then both she and Chiumbo climbed down it. The trap was only four feet deep, but that was more than enough for an elephant to become impaled. They rocked the stakes back and forth to loosen them in their holes, then yanked them up and tossed them out. “We need to get rid of these where no one will find them easily. I don’t want anyone resetting this trap. We can fill in the hole later.”
    “I saw a water hole,” said Chiumbo. “It is not very full now, but we can toss them into the mud. They will soon be covered.”
    “Good idea.” Jade hefted one of the six stakes and followed Chiumbo, who carried two. After two trips, they returned to the pit and threw in the smaller twigs and branches until the hole was only three feet deep.
    “A leopard can jump out of that,” said Jade, “although I doubt a rhino or buffalo could.”
    Chiumbo pointed at the lengthening shadows. “Simba Jike,” he said softly. “The day now shifts into afternoon. We do not have tents or food. We must go.”
    Jade nodded. “You’re right, of course.” She took a swig of water from her canteen and handed it over to Chiumbo to drink. “The others will get worried if we’re late. I’m supposed to dine at Hascombe’s camp with them this evening anyway.”
    They gathered their