Introduction 



wasted on luxuries in mere travelling), their open 

 faces bearing a look of mixed gloom and joy. 

 Gloom that the six weeks' outing is over, and that 

 they have to return to the amenities of civilized 

 life. It is true that they will now see a punkha 

 or fan again, will be able to drink deep in iced 

 drinks, and see once again a bridge table. No 

 further delights, for that stunning girl with the 

 grey-blue eyes and glorious golden hair has flitted 

 to the hills ! 



But what are all these in comparison to the 

 untrammelled freedom of the jungles, even with 

 the temperature at 200 and only a tiny pal tent 

 to ward off the fierce rays ? 



The joy and pride on their faces is for the bundle 

 of horns which they carefully see lifted out of their 

 carriage, together with several old battered leather 

 rifle and gun-cases. 



A couple of leathern trunks and two rolls of 

 bedding, water-bottles, a wooden store box, and 

 an old shikar topi or two with sticks, and an open 

 deal case of soda-water bottles with a lump of ice 

 sticking on top of them, the latter luxury picked 

 up since they joined the railway, for assuredly no 

 ice, or soda either probably, did they see or burden 

 themselves with in camp. On looking on this 

 battered collection of kit, your eye will run criti- 

 cally over the horns. Not much, perhaps, will 

 be your verdict. Nothing big. No, there may 

 be no record heads. But to their proud possessors, 



