52 NIGHT IN A MACHAN. 



found, which was situated a short distance above the out- 

 skirts of an extensive oak-forest that spread itself over the 

 northern slope of an adjacent hill. Our way led up over 

 some broken ground, where I shot at and wounded a gooral 

 which I lost. 



We reached the kar a little after sunset. As the spot 

 was unfavourable for firing from the ground, Jeetoo had 

 constructed a machan in a tree about twenty yards from 

 the to*-hole. From the fresh marks around this it was 

 evident the stag had paid it a visit the night before ; and as 

 there would be a bright moon, I thought matters looked 

 very promising. 



We had soon arranged our blankets in the machan, and 

 had settled ourselves there pretty comfortably in fact so 

 much so on my part, that after watching for several hours 

 I fell fast asleep. Such was not the case, however, with 

 rny trusty old companion, who had evidently been keeping 

 his eyes, and his ears also, notwithstanding their deafness, 

 wide open, for I was awakened by his giving me a gentle 

 shake. How long I had slept I had no idea, but when I 

 awoke the moon had risen high, and threw her broad tran- 

 quil light over the forest sloping away down below, and 

 into the deep, misty valleys that lay one beyond another 

 like mighty trenches between us and the distant rampart 

 of perpetual snow, rising dim and irregular along the hori- 

 zon. The night was bitterly cold, and so calm and still 

 that one might have heard the fall of a leaf. I could hear 

 my heart beating as I lay there, hardly daring to draw 

 breath lest it might disturb the silence. No one but a 

 sportsman can appreciate the feelings of a moment like this. 



Suddenly a loud sound broke the profound stillness, and 

 was so startling from its unexpected proximity that it 

 almost brought my beating heart to my mouth. It was 

 the short alarm -note 1 of the stag, and was followed by 



1 A totally different sound from his prolonged bellow during the rutting 

 season. 



