Pelts 



him at this stage of his introduction to the wild 

 sports of India ; and the mere vigil in a forest or 

 area of long grass with the novel sights around 

 him are of such consuming interest that the long 

 hours he may have to sit there are absorbing. The 

 bird-life and insect-life around him will well repay 

 watching, and later, as the sun's rays begin to dip 

 to the horizon, the animal-life will begin to appear. 

 Then, as he may not fire a shot, he will probably 

 see some fine chitul heads or a heavy sambhar 

 pass him by on their way to a favourite grazing- 

 ground ; or a sounder of pig may come out and 

 dig and delve and snort and grunt in front of him 

 in their earnest and patient search for roots. Vul- 

 tures will be sitting on the surrounding trees eager 

 but afraid to drop down on to the toothsome car- 

 case. Their turn will come when the Lord of the 

 Jungles has filled himself and they will then 

 gorge themselves to repletion and pick every 

 bone clean. Jackals will be seen, grey shadowy 

 shapes, slinking about, but not daring to approach 

 the kill. Men have seen ' spots ' himself slink out 

 of a patch of jungle and have a look at the kill he 

 would like, but dare not, steal. 



One jumps as a loud ' paon, paon, paon,' away 

 in the forest, cleaves the silence. The tiger is 

 afoot. Pea-fowl, screeching in the evening or at 

 night, generally mean that the Lord of the Jungles 

 is about. We wait patiently, all our senses on the 

 alert. 



243 



