AN ESCAPE IN THE DARK 



towards the heights opposite to those that we had left 

 behind. 



As it was close on sundown, and the Insa, which we 

 had just crossed, marked the boundary between the 

 domains of two chiefs, there was not much fear of our 

 being followed, for natives will seldom, if they can help it, 

 travel after sundown, especially should they be venturing 

 near the country of another chief, for they are likely to 

 get caught. 



When halfway up the steep slope which forms the 

 southern wall of the Insa valley, I could see the sunset 

 effects on Mount Wati in the east, for the trees had 

 fallen back and we were now standing in short grazing 

 land. 



Slowly the sunlight travelled up from the plain, 

 left the short green grass, and travelled up to the rough 

 weather-worn and storm-beaten crest of the mountain, 

 and then disappeared, for the sun had gone below the 

 horizon. Soon a glorious array of colours swept over 

 hill and dale, a short twilight followed, and then the 

 stars peeped out of the sky as the dark mantle of night 

 fell on us ere we had reached a suitable spot on which to 

 camp. On reaching the top of the ridge some hundreds 

 of feet above the Insa we marched for half an hour until 

 we came close to a group of huts and prepared to rest 

 for the night under a large tree close to them. 



I estimated that we had travelled just on thirty 

 miles that day, for it was past seven o'clock before we 

 halted, and we had taken only one rest of twenty minutes 

 during the march. 



The country here is largely under cultivation, and 

 well watered, for babbling streams are plentiful. The 

 inhabitants are scattered in all directions, I do not 

 remember seeing a village of more than two dozen huts 

 in the whole of the Legworo country. Everywhere one 

 sees small bunches of huts peeping over the tops of 



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