90 DIARY OF A SPORTSMAN NATURALIST 



behind appear on the hill above us. He climbed down 

 and had a conversation with the shikari. The latter came 

 up to me. " The man says, sahib, that the tiger came up 

 the nullah past his tree. He says that he beat the tree 

 as the sahib told him to do and that the tiger then sprang 

 up the nullah bed and disappeared. I think," he added, 

 " that the man lies, and that being fearful he only struck 

 the tree after the tiger had passed him." It was useless 

 being angry. " What now? " I asked. "We wiU go on 

 to the httle maidan, sahib, and look for the barasingha." 



In twenty minutes' time we were cautiously approaching 

 the edge of the grassy plain. As the trees of the forest we 

 had been coming through thinned out, the shikari slid 

 noiselessly ahead. I halted, glad of a few minutes' rest. 

 I could see parts of the little clearing already beginning 

 to shimmer under the rays of the sun, now well up above 

 the horizon and already becoming powerful. " Too late," 

 I muttered. " The deer will all have returned to the 

 forest by now." I was wrong, however. The shikari 

 reappeared and said that there were three stags on the far 

 edge of the clearing, and if we hastened I might get a shot 

 at one of them. We at once commenced to encircle the 

 maidan, keeping just within the forest for some way. 

 Then a jutting tongue of forest favoured us, and we cut 

 across the angle in its shelter and traversed it as quickly 

 as the dry and brittle leaves and twigs would permit. As 

 we again approached the clearing I went ahead and 

 cautiously looked out. Yes, there were the stags, about 

 sixty yards away. One fair-sized head and two smaller 

 ones. I also saw to my disgust a number of hinds closer 

 to the forest. Some of these latter were fitfully cropping 

 the grass. Their appetites were either satisfied or the 

 lateness of the hour made them uneasy. Others were 

 anxiously scanning the area and looked hard in our direction 

 several times. But the stags took no notice and continued 

 peacefully grazing in a lordly indifference. I soon saw that 

 I should have to take the shot from where I was, for I could 

 get no nearer ; it meant waiting, however, as the big stag 

 was feeding away from me and one of the others half 

 covered him. It was a most tantalizing position, as each 

 moment the distance was becoming greater and the stag 

 might never give me a decent shot before he reached and 

 disappeared into the forest. 



