50 \A r E TRY A RUSE. 



heard without good reason, and from being somewhat deaf, 

 he seemed to anticipate one's intentions from one's looks. 



One day I was surprised to see his long grave visage and 

 gaunt figure at the door, for he seldom left the vicinity of his 

 home except for shikar. He had come to inform me that, if I 

 cared to sit up for it, he could almost ensure my getting a shot 

 at a large stag with horns " like trees," as he described them, 

 that came and ate the Tear every night, not far from his vil- 

 lage. The few traps necessary were soon packed up, and 

 after a tramp of about twelve miles, we reached a little ham- 

 let, on the hill above which the kar was situated. 



On arrival, just before sunset, I heard that a leopard had 

 the day before killed a cow within a few hundred yards of 

 the place. As one of the villagers had rigged up a kind of 

 ambush in the fork of a tree near the remains of the carcass, 

 with the intention of sitting there for a shot, I promised him 

 a douceur for his chance of a shot, and at once proceeded to 

 take up my post, to which I was followed by several men 

 from the village. Against this latter proceeding I remon- 

 strated, but Jeetoo set my mind at rest by informing me for 

 what purpose they accompanied us. He said that as soon as 

 we were ensconced in our ambush, they would set up a shout- 

 ing as if with the intention of scaring any animal away from 

 the carcass. This row they would continue to keep up until 

 they got back to the village. The leopard, which was prob- 

 ably lying pretty near, hearing the noisy ones depart, and 

 their clamour become fainter as it grew more distant, and 

 thinking from this that all was now safe, would most prob- 

 ably return to its prey all the sooner, and more especially as 

 it was beginning to get dusk. I at first laughed at the idea; 

 but Jeetoo assured me that he had often been successful on 

 former occasions when he had tried this ruse witli tigers as 

 well as with leopards, and I have several times since found 

 it answer myself. 



On arriving at the carcass we found that there was little of 

 it left, save a few bones which the vultures had picked nearly 



