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able to take as much advantage of the wind as the most scientific 

 deer stalker could have done. Twice he crouched in a half-sitting 

 half-recumbent posture, which reminded me much of one of the 

 quaint monsters of heraldry, and gazed, long and anxiously, over 

 the valley between us, at the brow of the spur, whereon my two 

 men and I were stretched as flat as we could lay ourselves. He 

 evidently suspected that there was something uncanny there, but 

 luckily the wind was blowing strong from him to us and moving 

 the scanty grass sufficiently to puzzle his vision. The light shone 

 full upon him and in the clear mountain atmosphere, which, I am 

 not wise enough to explain why, always causes objects to appear 

 nearer than they really are, even without the glass, one could 

 almost have counted the stripes on his sleek and glossy coat. He 

 must have remained in view for many minutes as he quietly passed 

 along the mountain side ; and when he disappeared, my men with 

 admirable knowledge of ground, took me as fast as we could run 

 to a spot which would, they said, cross his path. He must have 

 increased his pace during this interval, or he may have discovered 

 that there was something wrong in the air, for, notwithstanding 

 that we had only a short way to go in comparison to his, he was at 

 a rapid trot, or run would be a more correct term for the pace, and 

 coming direct for us, just topping one hillock as our eyes rose to a 

 level with the summit of the opposite one r we were in Indian file 

 and dropped down on the grass without a whisper. This attracted 

 his attention but he could not make us out and, probably taking 

 us, in our grey shooting clothes, for pigs or ibex at rest, commenced 

 to stalk up to us most carefully. He was about 130 yards from 

 us with one of the beautiful Kondah glens between : on his hill and 

 about 15 or 20 yards in his front was a single rhododendron, about 

 the same distance on mine was a small clump of three or four of 

 those lovely shrubs, then glowing in all the full glory of their deep 

 red blossoms,* he dropped on his belly at once and thus crept 

 onwards to his bush while I, making myself as snake like as I 

 could, contrived to get forward to my clump. Thus stalking each 



* There are two varieties of this beautiful tree on the Neilgherries ,- the 

 gorgeous red one is to be found everywhere, but there is a second species of a 

 lilac tint which is, I think, much more rare. 



VAGRANT. 



