A HUNTER'S PARADISE 55 



becomes one of the most dangerous and vindictive of 

 animals and resembles his cousin the buffalo. With his 

 marvellously developed senses of smell and hearing to guide 

 him he charges down on his antagonist, and if he misses him 

 will wheel, as soon as he can pull up his heavy bulk, and 

 come on again with rigid determination and eye blazing fire 

 and deadly fury. It is on such occasions that a life hangs 

 upon a thread and coolness and a heavy rifle alone stand 

 between the sportsman and eternity. 



I had an experience of this kind that hot weather, and 

 although the ludicrous aspects of my position have often 

 appealed to me since that day, there was no possible doubt 

 at the time as to the tight fix I had got myself into. 



One night at dinner my Khansamah 

 informed me that the stock of murghis 

 (fowls) had run short, that the com- 

 missariat arrangements had gone wrong 

 owing to some unforeseen delay, and would 

 the sahib go out next morning and shoot 

 a sambhar or spotted deer for the larder. 

 We had considerable difficulty over supphes 

 that year and cholera broke out badly in 

 the district, adding to our troubles. It was 

 a bad business for a time, but we managed 

 to weather the storm. To my Khansamah 

 I replied that his desire could be easily 

 fulfilled without interruption to the work *^^'^*^"'? 

 I had on hand. The moon was late that 

 night or I would have gone out there and then. Before 

 I turned in I gave orders to be called at 3 a.m. 



Dawn next morning found me several miles from the 

 camp accompanied by a gun-bearer, who also carried a 

 light lunch-basket and a couple of bottles of cold, weak 

 tea, all I ever drank now when out in the jungles by myself. 

 The moon had afforded us plenty of fight and the path, a 

 broad elephant track, had been an easy one. We had 

 already seen or heard numerous deer, and a possible easy 

 shot or two might have been obtained had I not wished to 

 reach a certain hill in the cool before the sun rose and whilst 

 walking was pure pleasure. My object was to get the work 

 done, bag if possible a young stag, and be back by ten 

 o'clock in camp, where I had a long day's office work to 

 get through. 



