DUCK LIVER. 223 



native travellers, for we were riding at a foot's pace, 

 muffled up against the cold, and surrounded by native 

 followers. 



Alan had noticed, as we passed, the earth-mound of a 

 disused well not far from where the buck was standing ; and 

 creeping hack through the dhal fields, he managed to get 

 the mound between himself and the buck, and gain its 

 shelter. 



The buck was now about a couple of hundred yards off, 

 but only his head and long spiral horns were visible over the 

 sandhill. Waiting until it stooped down to crop a mouth- 

 ful of grass, Alan ran two-double across the intervening 

 space, and lay down under the sand ridge. The buck was 

 now within eighty or ninety yards, and Alan had only to 

 crawl up the bank and take care his head did not show 

 before he fired. It was impossible to miss at this distance, 

 and the buck fell over lifeless. 



Khera was not far off, and on arrival we gave Santan our 

 teal and buck, and ordered the liver of the buck to lie 

 broiled for dinner. Santan remonstrated that it would not 

 lie enough for a, dish, but we onlv laughed at him. 

 When dinner was served, and we were waiting, very hungry, 

 after some indifferent soup, Santan appeared with a large 

 dish, and, gravely uncovering it, displayed something in 

 the centre about the size of a shilling. He had made 

 a slight mistake, and thought we had said "duck"' 



