True king of land animals is the elephant. Even if it were not such a giant, it would be the superior of almost every other beast because of its intelligence, its keen senses, and its swift pace. Add size, and it is without equal.

The largest elephant is the African, and the the largest of the African elephants is found near the Mountains of the Moon, that fantastic region of monstrous growth straddling the equator. Twelve or thirteen feet tall, weighing ten or twelve tons, its trunk eight feet long and its deadly tusks nine, the sight of it alone will set a hunter shivering.

And this was the animal young Hal and Roger Hunt were seeking. On assignment in Africa's game country for their father, the noted collector, they were to obtain animals for zoos but above all an elephant—if possible, a white elephant, for which a zoo would pay $50,000.

Willard Price's heart-stopping story of how Hal and Roger went about their task is peppered with authentic incidents and background about the Watusi, the tallest people in the world; the pigmies, half their size, whom the Watusi use as servants; the incredibly ingenious pigmy method of capturing elephants; the unearthly plant and animal life of the Mountains of the Moon; and, in the climax, the slave-trading "blackbirders" who still venture into Africa from the Indian Ocean.

From the dust jacket