2&0 THE RIFLE AND HOUND IN CEYLON, chap, xn 



in three hours and a half, as we arrived at Dambool 

 at half-past five P.M. 



I had started off Wallace and all the coolies from 

 Newera Ellia about a week beforehand ; and, having 

 instructed him to leave a small box with a change 

 of clothes at the Dambool rest-house, I now felt 

 the benefit of the arrangement. The horsekeepers 

 could not possibly arrive that night. We there- 

 fore cleaned and fed our own horses, and littered 

 them down with a good bed of paddy straw ; and, 

 that being completed, we turned our attention to 

 curry and rice. 



The next morning at break of day we fed the 

 horses. Old Jack was as fresh as a daisy. The 

 morning was delightfully cloudy, but free from rain ; 

 and we cantered on to Innamalow, five miles from 

 Dambool. Here we procured a guide to Minneria ; 

 and turning off from the main road into a narrow 

 jungle path, we rode for twenty miles through dense 

 jungle. Passing the rock of Sigiri, which was formerly 

 used as a fort by the ancient inhabitants of the country, 

 we gradually entered better jungle, and at length we 

 emerged upon the beautiful plains of Minneria. I had 

 ordered Wallace to pitch the encampment in the exact 

 spot which I had frequently occupied some years ago. 

 I therefore knew the rendezvous, and directed my 

 course accordingly. 



What a change had taken place ! A continuous 



