ON THE COTTON PLAINS 155 



me a dig in the ribs. Toward the other youngsters his 

 bearing was superciliously indifferent. 



Life thus proceeded without much to mark its progress, 

 save that my horns grew apace, and that the new master 

 of the herd watched me with an ever-increasing ferocity, 

 till one day he fell to the muzzle-loader of a native shikari 

 We had strayed incautiously near a worli, or landmark, 

 when there came a flash and a bang, and my enemy sank 

 to the ground, as the figure of a Bhi'l rose from behind the 

 smoke and ran towards him. As we fled leaping over the 

 fields, there arose that same old gurgling bellow and that 

 was the last of my father's successor. 



Two days after this a very fine buck took charge of us ; 

 and the first hour of office in his new capacity was devoted 

 to driving me from the herd with which I had been con- 

 nected from my infancy. He succeeded, although I was 

 stubborn ; and I at length departed, in dudgeon, with a 

 slight horn wound in my flank. I may remark that my 

 unnatural mother viewed me thus driven forth without 

 apparent concern another youngster now trotted by her 

 side. Wandering morosely over the moonlit plain, I fell 

 in with three other bucklets of my age, and on comparing 

 notes we found that our condition was identical : each had 

 the same story to tell, and we agreed to join our fortunes 

 and face the world together. During the next few months 

 others in the same plight joined us ; thrust forth to seek 

 our fortunes, a fellow-feeling drew us together. 



In the course of our wanderings we had left the old 

 country far behind, and one day found ourselves approach- 

 ing a long line of trees that marked the straight, undeviat- 

 ing stretch of a trunk road. It was a glorious cold-weather 

 morning. The air was cold and crisp. White rime lay on 

 the yet misty fields, and the road, with its shading line of 

 acacias, stretched away east to the dim grey horizon, where 

 the early beams of the sun shot up into the clear green 

 sky from behind a far cloud bank. 



