JUNGLES OF BENGAL DUARS AND ASSAM 135 



motionless from tree and shrub in the bright moonlight 

 which fell full upon the small glade in which the salt-lick 

 was situated. Our zareba lay in dense shadow as did the 

 greater part of the surrounding forest, patches of moon- 

 light appearing only in one or two places beyond the 

 clearing. The forest was alive with sound ; the crickets 

 were shrieking as usual, night bush warblers and other 

 nocturnal birds were voicing their sibilant or harsh notes, 

 whilst at intervals the hoarse haunting hoot of owls rose on 

 the night air, sounding like the cries of lost souls in pur- 

 gatory. Weirdly uncanny are some of the night cries and 

 sounds in an Indian forest. For an hour, perhaps longer, 

 I sat and watched the little glade listening to these varying 

 night sounds with always that persistent under note of the 

 crickets. Once a khakar suddenly and silently appeared 

 out of the darkness of the forest and stood ghostly grey in 

 the clearing. For a brief space he remained as though 

 carved in stone, intently listening, and then vanished as 

 quietly as he had come. 



I was beginning to wonder whether the vigil was to be a 

 blank when I suddenly saw two round beads of fire, twin 

 stars set close together in the darkness of the forest on the 

 other side of the clearing. I first thought of fire-flies, to 

 dismiss the idea as quickly as it had flashed across my 

 mind. An animal, and from their height probably a 

 sambhar, I surmised. No sound had I heard and for 

 minutes nothing happened, only at times the stars dis- 

 appeared as the wary animal moved its head from side to 

 side and nosed the air for enemies. For a full minute the 

 points of light disappeared altogether, and I was beginning 

 to fear that the animal had retreated when I suddenly 

 heard a slight rustle a little to the right of where they had 

 appeared, and immediately afterwards a fine stag sambhar 

 stepped quietly out into the clearing. Stepped out and 

 came to a halt, head erect, muzzle pushed forward, nostrils 

 dilated, and ears flicked to the front. He stood there as if 

 carved in bronze, the moonlight turning to silver his antlers 

 and upper parts, the rest being in dense shadow. 



I had not come out to kill so much as to watch, and I 

 had not made up my mind as to whether I should fire or 

 not when fate intervened, and one of the tragedies of the 

 forest was enacted before my eyes. Almost without a 

 sound a mighty black shadow, coming from our right rear, 



