A CHANCE SHOT. 51 



of the cock is grey and dark-brown. The female is some- 

 thing like our own grey hen, and, I should judge, about equal 

 in weight. On the same kind of ground, the mournful whistle 

 of the wood-partridge comes at times from the dense thickets 

 and bushy dingles it affects. The " pewra," as the natives call 

 it, is a game-looking bird, of a general dusky olive hue, from 

 which it gets the name of " olive partridge," as it is sometimes 

 termed. 



Having made such a long deviation after one cock-pheasant, 

 let us return once more to our hunt after better game. 



On the third morning, the bear-slayer having mistaken the 

 star by the rising of which he determined the time for our 

 start in the dark, aroused me much earlier than was necessary. 

 Being thoroughly awakened, I turned out, stirred up the log- 

 fire, and made the best of it until it was time to set out. We 

 had got about half-way up Dhuj, when there was a sudden 

 stampede of heavy animals near us in the forest. At first 

 we could see nothing in the deep gloom under the dense dark 

 foliage of the oak-trees for the morning had not as yet 

 dawned, and there was only the pale dim light of a waning 

 moon. " Hist ! there's a mirrig," 1 whispered Baloo Mar, as the 

 form of a jurrow loomed indistinctly on the crest of an open 

 knoll close above us ; but whether a stag or a hind we were 

 unable to make out, owing to the background of dark trees 

 beyond it. Although I could not discern the sights on the 

 rifle, I chanced a shot without them, and heard the unmistak- 

 able sound that a bullet makes when it tells on flesh. The 

 rest of the herd went thundering away through the wood 

 where it was too dense and dark to see them, although they 

 must have been within fifty yards of us. It was useless to 

 look for the wounded beast before daylight ; so we continued 

 our ascent. We had reached the top of the hill, and had 

 been examining the precipitous craggy slopes on the south 



1 Mirrig is a term applied by the natives to any large game-animal except 

 bears, tigers, and suchlike. 



