42 RIFLE AND ROMANCE 



atmosphere, with that delightful scent of bare earth sud- 

 denly rain-soaked after long periods of parching drought. 



The long dry yellow grass, beaten down and matted 

 together, now gave out a pleasant damp perfume, and the 

 rain-soaked leaves had ceased to crackle brittlely under 

 foot. Then one morning broke with low trailing clouds 

 pushed in long procession before a moist west wind ; and 

 by evening, to a grand accompaniment of thunder and 

 lightning, the "rains" had set in. Night and day the 

 heavy rain swept the hills, soaked up so rapidly here by 

 the thirsty earth that many hours passed ere the water- 

 courses began to fill. 



Then the first burst of the monsoon slackened, and 

 through intervals in the bulging masses of fat wet cloud 

 the sun shone down again. A light green tint on all the 

 more open ground now showed that the grass had already 

 responded to the welcome moisture ; but nearly a month 

 of rain is necessary to bring it up through the withered 

 carpeting of last year's growth. Once through, it shoots 

 up rapidly to a great height, reaching in places to well 

 over the head of a mounted man. 



This was the time of a sudden humid* growth of mush- 

 rooms and tree-orchids, with legions of flying insect-life, 

 swarming winged termites, and fat vociferous frogs. Then 

 the clouds closed up and shut down once more. Again 

 the tropical downpours smote and drenched the fog- 

 enveloped hills, which now sent down raging freshets of 

 turbid red flood-water under the big rain-streaming leaves - 

 of the teak forests. Everywhere the thick drifting mists, 

 the cold settled wind, and dark excessive wet. After a 

 week or so the heavy driving rainfall gave place to a 

 calmer drizzle, the clouds rolled up in fantastic wreaths 

 of curling white vapour, revealing the far - stretching 

 ranges of the rugged Melghat clad in a fresh garb of 

 gorgeous greens and blues, and another " break " ensued, 

 marked by sudden heavy showers. 



