VENGEANCE OF JHAPOO THE GOND 279 



pany that he stood there mute and reassured, now and 

 then nibbling the grass at his feet. The light evening 

 breeze that had been gently stirring the surrounding 

 foliage had also died away. Somewhere in the neigh- 

 bourhood a roosting peacock flapped up to his perch with 

 a loud "Kok kok kok kok Jtokt" It was one of those 

 soft, warm, still, tropical evenings when sunset merges im- 

 perceptibly into brilliant moonlight, and the empires of 

 day and night meet and overlap as it were, awhile, in 

 a common, dual rule. 



Far off lay the hazy line of the plain, its superheated 

 surface a mirage of dust ; the remote howl of some village 

 cur, or the faint sounds of homing cattle floating slowly 

 through the yellow air. Closer at hand the heads of the 

 trees and bushes of the little jungle patch stood out clear- 

 cut ; but the dell which they overhung was now indistinct 

 with shadows, and soon passed on into rayless gloom. 

 Then the last beam of the sun had gone, and, as night 

 asserted itself, the round rising moon turned gradually 

 from palish icy green to a burnished silver disc. A hare had 

 slipped noiselessly out and was hopping slowly about in 

 the dusk on the opposite side of the ravine, while bats 

 began to wheel about the face of the cliff at my back. 



A faint sound came echoing round the slopes of the 

 dark hill. I leant forward to listen intently. After some 

 minutes it again broke the silence. This time a little 

 nearer. A harsh grating noise exactly like the distant, 

 slow, rough sawing of hard wood 



"Saw ha; saw ha; saw ha; saw " 



The panther had issued on his nightly rounds. 



There is no animal more varied in its behaviour than 

 the panther or leopard. Under identical circumstances one 

 can seldom foretell its probable line of action. When the 

 most perfect arrangements have been made for its out- 

 witting, it will frequently discover the presence of danger 

 and render all the sportsman's care unavailing; on other 



