The Elemoont/Chapter 4
tells how the Hunter and his new friend, the Martian Mosquito, (where did he come from?) found themselves in a lunar labyrinth.
The Hunter was left alone but he was not alone! A strange iridescent creature lurked in a shadow of a large boulder. It resembled a mosquito, but such mosquito that was inflated by a bicycle air pump to incredible dimensions. Besides it was painted such colour as soap bubbles were painted. Hearing the tramp of elephants' feet, the creature appeared from behind the bolder.
"Oh!" exclaimed the Hunter who did not expect to meet anybody in here, "And are you the very same special elephant? But you most of all resemble a mosquito!" To be on the safe side he heaved his gun and took the aim.
"I'm a mosquito, but only a Martian Mosquito," said the creature continuing to tremble and nervously looked round, "Don't shoot fire. I can burst."
"Well, what about it," muttered the Hunter but lowered his gun, "And how did you come here, who brought you to the Moon?"
"I came flying myself," sighted the Martian Mosquito, "to hunt."
"Oh, we are colleagues!" was glad the Hunter, "I also wanted to hunt. But he... the Elemoont suddenly blew and..." The Hunter wished to show how exactly the Elemoont blew, but understood at the right time that there was not any air at the Moon and he had nothing to blow, "and I found myself at the Moon," concluded he. "Now I'll make an acquaintance of some special elephants: Elephants–for–Hunters."
The Martian Mosquito began to tremble more violently and acquired a pale green with light more yellow colour. (All Martian Mosquitoes always had such appearance when they were very anxious). "Elephants–for–Hunters?!" exclaimed he, "I also have the familiarity with them! I had a narrow escape! When they had known that I came for hunting…" Here a thing resembling a cannon ball had flown under their heads and dug into lunar ground ten steps away. "It's beginning," uttered the Martian Mosquito.
"Can it burst?" was anxious the Hunter.
"It will explode but some later," calmed him the Mosquito and continued, "So, when the local elephants had known that I flew to hunt, they became awfully angry with me. They stamped its feet so that I nearly burst! And then they called those mad Elephants–for–Hunters."
"Mad?" asked again the Hunter.
"You'll see yourself."
Another thing (a cannon ball?) fell a few steps away.
"They've found the range" informed the Mosquito, "Now they'll cover us."
"It's time to run!" exclaimed the Hunter, "We'll not wait until they slap us here!"
"YOU ARE ENCIRCLED! SURRENDER!" suddenly thunders somebody in such voice, which at the railway stations they announce about delaying of a train for three hours, "I REPEAT! SERRENDER! YOU ARE ENCIRCLED!"
"To surrender to some elephants?!" was filled with indignation the Hunter, "Never in my life! Some way out must be!"
"As regards the way out I don't know," thoughtfully said the Mosquito, "but there is an entrance here, it's really."
He set his side against the boulder behind that he had hidden not long ago, strained himself (for some reasons he became violet-orange colour), and moved it aside. An unpleasant black hole was under the boulder.
"It's the entry into the Lunar Labyrinth!" proudly said the Mosquito, "I had found it. My grandfather told me about it, and his grandfather told him, and…"
At that moment, the cannon balls were raining down and the Mosquito was forced to interrupt his narration. "Forward!" exclaimed he and jumped into the hole. "Forward!" echoed the Hunter and also jumped into the hole. They were shrouded in pitch-darkness. The Hunter immediately switched on his electric torch with which he never gave up (otherwise how could he found the game at the night?). There was not the Mosquito anywhere! A narrow manhole led down and on the spot divided into several corridors. On the top of the wall, the Hunter saw some characters brightly flashed in electric light. Coming nearer he read, "Take care! Wicked lunatics!" And under another corridor, "More take care! The very wicked lunatics live here!" And under the third corridor, "Do not take care! No lunatics!" "What lunatics?" thought the hunter, "To be on the safe side, it's better to go in that direction where there are not any lunatics?"
Here it seemed that somebody giggled. The Hunter looked around but did not see anybody near him. Then he examined his gun and set out on his journey.