HUNTING & SHOOTING IN CEYLON 



reach of those wicked fore-feet. Luckily all our dogs 

 knew the game only too well, from bitter experience, and 

 so kept their distance. Round and round him they flew, 

 one moment baiting him in front and the next taking a 

 hurried snap at his heels. 



Meanwhile W. and I were racing down the hill, re- 

 gardless of " wait-a-bit " thorns and overhanging branches, 

 thinking of nothing but the game ahead ; soon we were within 

 50 yards of the bay, and the fun waxed fast and furious. 

 We could hear the buck snort as he leapt at a hound, and 

 the thrash of his antlers as he made terrific sweeps from side 

 to side in vain endeavours to impale an unwary hound. 

 Presently, when we were within a few yards of him, and 

 still unable to see anything, owing to the thickness of the 

 undergrowth, there was a crush and a crash, and the next 

 thing I saw was an avalanche of solid, living flesh coming 

 straight for me. I only just had time to throw myself 

 on one side as the great buck rushed past, and gave him 

 the right barrel on an off-chance of hitting as he disappeared 

 through the trees. 



On rushing to the place I had last seen him we could 

 find no traces of blood, but on going another 20 yards we 

 found two big blotches, which showed us that at any rate he 

 was hit, but where and how we could not tell. We were 

 now puzzled to know what to do, as there was not a sound 

 to be heard of dogs or sambhur, so, waiting a minute or two, 

 we listened, and presently there was a faint sound which 

 might have been 2 miles away ; but there was no time to 

 wait and consider what it was, so off we went at the same 

 mad rate in the direction from whence it came. On topping 

 a knoll at the edge of the tea clearing, we could hear them 

 plainly baying about half a mile away, below a tremendous 

 cliff which towered up some 800 feet above the forest. Our 



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