258 THE HIGHLANDS OF CENTEAL INDIA. 



to a motionless coal-black form standing against the 

 sky-line, which the telescope showed to be a mighty- 

 bull. He stood for a few minutes till the cows came up 

 and passed across him, and then stalked solemnly after 

 them. He, too, was no doubt going to Dhowtea ! We 

 were walking on disgusted when my eye caught another 

 jet-black figure among the trees ahead of us, and we 

 crouched into nothing as another bull walked slowly 

 into an open space about half a mile ahead. After 

 i^azing round in every direction he slowly began to 

 descend to the same valley. He, too, appeared, like the 

 rest of them, to have started for Dhowtea. But he was 

 not there yet, and we determined at least to give him a 

 run for it ; so, waiting till he was concealed by the fall 

 of the ground, we doubled down a rocky water-course to 

 cut him off, if possible, from the valley. We succeeded ; 

 for he evidently got our wind, and sheered off from the 

 pass down to the river, walking slowly and magnificently 

 along the edge of a precipitous fall, apparently looking 

 for another way down. There was none such, however; 

 and we followed him along in short running stalks, 

 gaining on him every time he got hidden for a minute 

 by inequalities of the ground. The hill we were on 

 gradually narrowed to the saddleback form so common 

 in ihis range, and not far ahead seemed to terminate in 

 uD abrupt descent to the valley. There seemed to be no 

 doubt we had him in a trap if we would only have 

 patience ; for he must either take that header to reach 

 the valley, or charge back along the ridge over our 

 mangled corpses ! He became very cautious as he neared 

 the end, zigzagging across the narrow ridge, and using 

 all his senses to detect the pursuer he evidently sus- 

 pected. We were slowly roasting on the bare, shadeless 



