274 THE IMAGE OF WAE 



nearly got to us when I heard them yelling, and saw 



what I took to be a panther going towards P . 



Again he fired. Just then some gazelle came gallop- 

 ing down the valley between D and myself. 



We both fired, but a running gazelle is a small 

 mark at a hundred yards, and they went on un- 

 touched. The beat was over. P came down 



from his hill and told us that he had missed two 

 hyaenas and killed one, besides seeing another he 

 did not get a shot at. 



For the next beat we had to climb to the top of 

 several parallel passes. When I afterwards got to 

 know the ground better, I found out that the 

 shikari had arranged the guns badly. Had we been 

 stationed half a mile further on, we could easily have 

 commanded the w^hole ground, whereas, as will be 

 seen, this was not the case. Moreover, in going to 

 our posts, we obviously disturbed the very places, 

 we were going to beat. My post was only to be 

 attained by climbing nearly half a mile of rocky 

 ridge. When about half-way up it, the beaters on 

 the opposite hill disturbed a nylghau. I could not 

 see any horns, and consequently did not care to fire ; 

 but the shikari swearing it was a bull, I at last did 

 take a shot as it stood for a minute as if considering 

 where it should go. It was a very long shot, and 

 across a deep gorge, which is never conducive to 

 good shooting, and I missed. The beast at once 

 plunged into the jungle beneath, and we never saw 

 it again. At last I reached the ridge, which was 

 between two almost precipitous valleys. The beat 

 only produced one chikara,^ which I killed with the 



1 The gazelle, also known as the " ravine deer." This was one of the 

 few times I ever saw one in a ravine. 



