130 RIFLE AND ROMANCE 



thumps the heart, and throbs the temple 

 Shades of sooars ! What a whopper ! 

 Black as night that brow umbrageous ! 

 grizzly-grey those " chaps " outrageous ! 

 and that mighty head dividing 

 ploughshare-like the thorn's deriding. 

 Steals he strangely, smoothly, forward, 

 (twinkling legs screened all by grasses) 

 halts ! And, never sidewise turning, 

 roves his little keen-set optic 

 right and left his twinkling optic. 



Softly ! softly ! brother hunters ! 

 (reins so ready, spurred heels twitching). 

 Prithee ! note that plain so stretching, 

 full two miles before us stretching : 

 grace awhile ! The grey-boar trotteth 

 to his doom on plain far stretching. 

 Grace awhile ! Till grey-boar trotteth 

 just too far to regain Pakhal, 

 not too far to gain the Chandra 

 two miles hence the Chandrabhaga 

 ere we catch him. Wait ! Now, RIDE! 



'Neath strong hoof-beats furrow flying 

 rushing wind in ears roar-roaring 

 dart we from that knoll uprising, 

 bush-encumbered, palm frond-studded, 

 dart out on that plain far stretching. 

 Now the hunter, Arab, Waler, 

 neck and neck shall prove their mettle. 

 In a moment fly to meet us 

 prickly bush and hedgerow thorny ; 

 just a pull to steady Arab, 

 bounds into the air our Waler, 

 hedgerow thorny's far behind us ! 



When the blood so madly courses, 

 to the lips a yell it forces ; 

 yell of rushing, tearing gallop 

 howl of glorious exultation 

 in this tearing, fighting gallop. 

 Grey-boar, lobbing there before us, 



