CHONDO: A SAMBAR PARADISE 199 



After a long time there arose that excited yelling that 

 tells of animals afoot ; followed by other signs that what- 

 ever they were they had broken back. Then silence, then 

 again, after a still longer period, on came the beaters once 

 more. 



A full hour had I sat there when a tremendous though 

 still distant howling broke on my ears ; and a faint 

 crashing in the leaves some hundreds of yards to my front 

 was heard. On it came, growing louder and louder. It 

 seemed to be making for a point half-way between the 

 treed scout and my post. I seized the rifle, rose, and 

 ran to place myself on the line ; and as I reached the spot 

 which I had determined, was nearly knocked over by a 

 big hind sambar that came racing through the bamboos 

 right on top of me! "Conk! Dhdnk! Bhaunk!" burst out 

 a perfect hurricane of barks and bellings as the biggest lot 

 of sambar I have ever seen together dashed past, all round 

 me, out of which I vainly endeavoured to pick the stag. 

 Next moment the jungle had closed behind them, there 

 was a furious heavy galloping, and they had gone. Per- 

 plexed and chagrined, I was preparing to follow them on 

 the chance of pushing them out on some open space or 

 spur, when there came the crackling of leaves in the 

 bamboo clump below. Again I ran forward and halted. 

 A huge dark shape was coming swiftly through the shady 

 forest ; it halted, then it came on, then it halted again. 

 A glint of filtered sunlight fell on such a huge tree-like 

 horn that my heart seemed all at once to cease beating. 

 I had found him, then the stag, the record head, for 

 which I had been looking all those weary years ! Here he 

 came at last ! First a poked-out muzzle, then such a 

 head ! Then the cautious, hesitating, wary, leary old fellow 

 himself! 



Instantly the ivory bead rested on his shoulder the 

 '400 bore cordite rifle held in the grip of anxiety, almost 

 of despair. A stunning, sharp report ! Up rears the huge 



