A HUNTER'S PARADISE 65 



eye fell on the rifle. A thought flashed through my brain 

 and I began to let myself down on to the horizontal branch 

 below, keeping my eye on the bison the while. From the 

 lower position I found I could only see a part of him, but 

 still most of the head. Taking my eyes from him I looked 

 down ; there lay the rifle, not immediately beneath me, but 

 still fairly close if I could only reach it without sound. This 

 I proceeded to try and do. I turned over on to my stomach 

 and was commencing to lower myself slowly when the 

 buckle of a leather belt I wore caught in the bark and made 

 a loud scraping crack. I heard a sudden movement to the 

 left, a bellow and crash followed each other instantaneously, 

 and I was sitting palpitating on the fork again. I could 

 not have explained how I got there. The bull, for he it 

 was, passed almost below the tree. What pace he was 

 going I had no idea. But I heard him turn and then sit 

 down again quite close ; but now I could not see him. 



I made no further attempts to get the rifle. 



The effort had done me good, however, and I now turned 

 seriously to a consideration of the position. I had no watch 

 on me, but calculated it must be between eleven and 

 twelve o'clock. The effect of the sun was what I 

 most feared. Drowsiness would do for me. The noise I 

 made no longer bothered me. I felt the bull knew all 

 there was to know, so I selected a better position, and 

 taking off my leather belt, slit a hole in the end of it, and 

 passing the end of a handkerchief through it, knotted it 

 securely. The added length enabled me to tie myself to a 

 fair-sized branch and thus ensure partial safety if I dozed. 

 The added tightness round my middle also stilled the 

 pangs of hunger that were making themselves felt, for I 

 had not eaten for about nine hours. The thought of food 

 brought to my memory my companion and the tiffin basket. 

 Where, I wondered, were they ? And then I began to 

 calculate. Assuming that the man was more or less aware 

 of my position and had returned to camp, how soon could I 

 expect relief ? Three hours either way should do it and an 

 hour to collect the men who in my absence might be 

 all over the place. Three o'clock at the earliest, and I 

 wondered if I could stick the heat, always greatest between 

 one and three o'clock, or felt most at that period. I had 

 luckily never taken to the afternoon siesta in the hot 

 weather so usual in the East for European and Indian 



