44 DIARY OF A SPORTSMAN NATURALIST 



secured his lady fair for the walk down, and that Captain 

 H. had walked off with number two without a by your 

 leave to anyone. But now that the fun was so nearly 

 over I was not in the humour for skirmishing. It was 

 a merry party, however, that went down that rocky 

 hill-side, and a noisy one at the subsequent tea. For 

 myself, in spite of being rallied about it deep gloom had 

 settled down upon me. The jolly day was over. The sun 

 was within an hour of setting when the party began to 

 prepare for the journey back. As I got up from the table 

 D. suddenly said, " Oh ! by the way, youngster, I've a 

 telegram about you," and searching in his pocket he drew 

 out and threw the flimsy paper across the table. On it I 

 read " S. may spend night in Station and rejoin his camp 

 following day. C." It was one of the ways by which D. 

 endeared himself to the youngsters. He had guessed how 

 hit I should be at having to go back to my lonely camp 

 and leave them all at the end of such a jolly day. He had, 

 therefore, wired to my chief on his own account and obtained 

 permission for me to go back with them all. He read my 

 thanks in my face, and made some chaffing remark about a 

 damsel dark and damsel fair, but his wife said, " What a 

 shame not to have told him before." But would it have been 

 quite the same ? By special request I made a third with T. 

 and his lady-love in the ride back to the Station. However, 

 before we had gone half-way I, without a pretence of an 

 excuse, put spurs to my pony and galloped off. I was to 

 put up for the night with the D.'s, where all the Station 

 were dining that evening. 



What a jolly dinner that was, and what yarns we all 

 swapped ! 



The usual method of operating against bears is not, 

 however, from the machan. The best fun is to be had in 

 tackling them on foot, either by lying in wait for them in 

 the vicinity of their caves as they return from the fields 

 where they have been guzzling on some sweet crop at the 

 expense of the unfortunate villager, or by beating them out 

 of their caves during the day. Two or more rifles are 

 preferable for this work as more bears are, or should be (by 

 no means the same thing in bear shooting), bagged than is 

 possible for one rifle when two or three bears are afoot at 



