THE HIGHER NARBADA. 363 



penclicular. At last I found the place, and, crossing 

 over, had the satisfaction of finding that I was utterly 

 ^lone, dogs and deer having disappeared. 



I knew the direction of the river, and r(jdc for that, 

 but soon got into the labyrinth of nalas that fringe it3 

 bed, and had the greatest difficulty in forcing my nag 

 throuc^h amono;st the bamboos. The ndlas themselves 

 were a peifect puzzle ; in and out and round about, they 

 twisted like the alleys in fair Rosamond's bower ; and 

 I several times found myself in the place I had just 

 left. At last I got into the bed of one of the principal 

 of them, that led straight down to the Narbada ; and, 

 by dint of occasionally putting my head under my 

 pony's neck and forcing him through the bamboos, and 

 here and there leaping a fallen tree, I soon emerged on 

 the shingly banks of the river, and, pulling up to listen, 

 I thought 1 heard a faint yelp far, far up the stream. 



A broad belt of sand and shingle intervened between 

 the jungle and the shrunken river, along which I 

 galloped for about a mile, the baying of the dogs 

 becomins: more and more distinct as I rode. A few 

 minutes after, I reached the scene of conflict — a shady 

 nook of the river, arched in by the massive boughs of 

 trees, interspersed with the feathering stems of the 

 bamboo. A giant forest-tree lay felled by the brink 

 of the pool, worm-eaten and water-logged, as if it had 

 lain there for centuries, and beyond this stood the stag 

 at bay, chest deep in the water. Four of the G6ndi 

 dogs and my greyhound bitch were baying him from 

 the log; and just as 1 arrived a black little Gond, spear 

 in hand, emerged from the forest and jumped on to the 

 tree. Two or three prods he made at him with his 

 weapon failed to reach him ; and he was just about 

 to leap into the water when the greyhound, encouraged 



