REMINISCENCES OF JUNGLYPUR 225 



vitingly picketted close to the natural "kill," and I sat 

 up over it. 



Not till well after dark on this moonless night did the 

 panther arrive, and then the first intimation of his presence 

 was a little gasp, that was choked into a sigh, as the 

 garotted goat sank to earth. This was followed by a horrid 

 sound, like the sharp ripping open of a carpet bag. Just 

 able to discern the faint white of the brute's chest at that 

 very short range, bang ! went a charge of slugs. Silence. 

 A few minutes later a furious tugging commenced, and 

 again the white patch showed dully under the trees. Bang ! 

 again without result. After this we went home. During 

 the night which made the third time of his bold return to 

 the " kill " the panther polished off both the goat and the 

 remains of the cow, after which feat of gormandising he 

 left the tracks of his very comfortable and leisurely retreat 

 up at last the fatal glen. Informed of this, I drove out 

 next day, and on reaching the Dhar khdra found my flat- 

 faced Korkus ready posted for the familiar silent beat. 

 At the very last moment the panther turned sulkily out of 

 the last bit of cover and slunk off round a corner for all 

 the world like a cat detected at the cream jug presenting, 

 however, no shot, as he turned up among the boulders of a 

 dry watercourse at right angles to the main ndla. 



A stiff climb and detour placed me once more above his 

 second line of retreat, and this time we all felt sure of him. 

 However, the beaters came on slowly and thoroughly, 

 arriving just below my post without any result. This was 

 extraordinary ; and an animated exchange of signals was 

 in progress when there came a low whistle from my old 

 orderly far below. He had disturbed the panther, which 

 must have squatted in some hole and let the other men 

 pass right over him. 



And now the brute came gliding and leaping up towards 

 me in that peculiarly heavy lumbering way which so often 

 misleads one into under-estimating the panther's pace. By 

 Q 



