SMALL GAME IN INDIA 155 



him a string of antelope came leaping and bounding 

 down the dry bed of a nullah. There were at least 

 four good heads, one certainly, even allowing for the 

 fact that it graced its original owner and not the 

 walls of a smoking-room, twenty-six inches. The 

 ground seemed covered with them, flashing in and 

 out behind the tall, swaying grasses on which adven- 

 turous tits swung and climbed. Then the nullah hid 

 them, and by the time Burton reached its edge they 

 were giving a very poor chance. He had a snap but 

 it went down to the debit side of the ledger, which 

 was real bad luck, and our misunderstanding lost him 

 a nice head. 



It was quite light now, and when I saw Pertap 

 Singh and the " Arabian Nights " gentlemen, I must 

 confess that I felt a fearful tramp, clad in an old 

 khaki shooting suit and a flannel shirt ! Pertap 

 Singh himself was a very handsome man, a typical 

 Rajput noble. I could quite imagine him a la Clar- 

 ence Blakiston declaiming to an admiring and sym- 

 pathetic gallery, " Now is the time to show that 

 while an Indian prince I am also an English gentle- 

 man ! Take the girl ! " (Terrific applause, sympathetic 

 sniffs, and cries of " Isn't he a darling ! ") 



Making quite sure of no further misunderstandings, 

 we proceeded. The bucks were all out of sight, and 

 though another herd soon showed up in the distance 

 they were already alarmed and unapproachable. 



Sunrise over the plain of nodding grass was a 

 beautiful sight. Hawks with fluttering wings hung 



