LEGEND OF BINGAREEBEYL. 391 



the cascade returned to the village with a story of their 

 having killed a big tahr, which they were unable to bring 

 back owing to its having fallen down Bingareebeyl and 

 lodged on the ledge there. On hearing this. Deena, who 

 was as plucky as he was powerful, and prided himself on 

 being a daring climber, volunteered, as was expected, to 

 recover the tahr by clambering down to the ledge on a rope. 

 Having succeeded in reaching the tahr, he cut off its legs, 

 which were each hauled up by his companions above. But 

 instead of letting the rope down again, they shouted to 

 Deena that he might keep the carcass as food for himself, 

 and straightway departed, leaving him to his fate. 



" As he sat there pondering hopelessly over his desperate 

 position, a big 'gooroor' (lammergeyer), attracted by the 

 remains of the tahr, came soaring past, when a happy idea 

 struck Deena as to how he might possibly effect his escape. 

 Unwinding the girdle of rope the paharrees usually wear, he 

 tied himself with it to the carcass, under which he contrived 

 to conceal himself. As he expected, the gooroors soon came 

 circling round, and as each one alighted on the carcass he 

 stealthily seized its legs and secured them in nooses, made 

 with bits of unravelled rope he had attached to the ribs, 

 until he had thus caught a sufficient number of the birds 

 for his purpose. He then gave a loud shout, which had the 

 effect of making the affrighted gooroors simultaneously flap 

 their wings and lift him, with the carcass, from the ledge, the 

 result being to deposit him safely on terra firma below. On 

 the unexpected and seemingly supernatural reappearance of 

 their enemy among them, the astonished and terrified villagers 

 fled, leaving him in sole occupation of Lata, though not before 

 he had taken his revenge. They eventually, however, came 

 to terms with him ; but he made the place hotter than ever 

 for them on their return to it." 



As I happened to breakfast by the wayside near Lata, on 

 my broaching this subject to some of the villagers who 



