282 Incidents of Foreign Field Sport. 



we shall be safe." " You infernal fool," I replied, 

 " unpack at once. Do you think, after a seventy mile 

 ride, I am going ten miles further, just to allay your 

 fears. Much you care for master ; it is for yourselves 

 that you are afraid. If the ' shitan ' does come, I hope 

 he'll take you for your cheek in not having obeyed 

 orders. Quick ! " I cried, raising my whip in a 

 threatening attitude ; "if everything is not ready in 

 an hour, I'll know the reason why." " Orderly," I 

 called out to my pattern man, "what is the meaning 

 of this ? " " Sahib, we got here last night, too late 

 to pitch the tent, so we put up in a village hut, 

 placed at our disposal by the Cotwal. He told us 

 to bolt the doors and windows, and to have no light, 

 for there was a ' shitan ' who prowled about killing 

 people, and that in the last ten days he had lost ten 

 people, and could find no traces of them. Sahib, we 

 heard fearful noises all night, and were in fear of our 

 lives. An hour before daybreak something lifted the 

 thatch of the roof, and a couple of eyes, each of them 

 the size of a full moon, looked down upon us, and our 

 livers became like sieves, and in my fear I fired off 

 master's shot gun, and the apparition disappeared. 

 But, Sahib, do not remain here ; two people were 

 killed and taken away last night, and it may be our 

 turn to-night." " What sheer nonsense," I replied; 

 " send for the Cotwal. But, boy, have the tent 

 pitched at once, and if I don't get my dinner in an 

 hour, look out for squalls." I took off my clothes, 

 got my syce to bring a lot of chatties of water, which 

 I poured over me. I then put on clean night-clothes, 

 and getting into a comfortable easy- chair, waited for 

 the arrival of the native official, and superintended 



