THE FIND. "71 



be molested in his absence, threw himself upon the 

 carcass." 



" I can well excuse your letting him go, doctor," 

 said I, "for many a time have I experienced a 

 similar forgetfulness, and allowed the game to 

 escape in the same manner. You must not, how- 

 ever, give up your tiger as lost, for he is evidently 

 badly hit, as I can tell by the helpless manner he 

 has dragged himself through the bushes, and it 

 will be strange to me if my knowledge of wood- 

 craft, aided by my shekarries and dogs, cannot 

 show us something more of him," 



So saying, I bade Chineah loose Ponto (poor 

 Walter's legacy), and going in front, I laid him on 

 the trail. He, perfectly knowing his work, took 

 up the scent immediately, and after half-an-hour's 

 tramp, led us into a patch of high reeds inter- 

 spersed with bush, jutting into a grassy swamp. 

 Here we heard a low growling, which informed us 

 that we had run the game close ; so forming a line 

 with our people in the centre, we pushed on, 

 knowing that he must either break into the open, 

 when we should get fair shots, or turn back against 



