154 Incidents of Foreign Field Sport. 



of the next, then by the last, and I see hurrying to- 

 wards me a brocket ! Meat is badly wanted, and I 

 half make up my mind to kill while I may ; but the 

 first man again taps, and I resolve to wait and see 

 whether something better will not turn up, and allow 

 the deer to pass unhurt. So I bide my time. After 

 the first stop taps, none of the others repeated it, 

 and I feared the quarry, whatever it might be, had 

 escaped. I was just before in a fever heat of excite- 

 ment ; now I was just as depressed. When peering 

 intently into the jungle beyond the nullah not 

 into the watercourse itself seeing nothing in that 

 direction, I turned my eyes up stream and there, 

 standing in the bed of the nullah, was a noble stag 

 a veritable jungle wallah worthy almost of the 

 Neilgherries, and not one of those miserable sapt x 

 which are so numerous in the plains of Burma. He 

 was gazing intently down the nullah, but not at me, 

 and so was more probably listening to the beaters 

 quietly advancing. I covered him dead, and I think 

 I could have killed him as he stood, but curiosity 

 overcame my thirst for blood, and I waited to see 

 what would happen. For fully five minutes he stood 

 still, and then, as the beaters approached nearer, he 

 threw up his head, gave a stamp or two with his feet, 

 and trotted in my direction. 



I then noticed that he was not alone, but had his 

 harem of five hinds with him. As he came abreast 

 of me I bowled him over. The report of the rifle 

 startled the ladies and they rushed here and there 

 utterly at a loss what to do, and doubtless wondering 

 what had killed their lord and master. I had ample 

 1 Burmese for Sambur. 



