72 HOURS WITH NATURE. 



the simple garb of a mendicant, to the nearest Rail- 

 way station, distant twenty one miles. On the seventh 

 day after their departure Svamiji and Janardan his faithful 

 disciple, were wandering about some forest in Hill Tip- 

 perah in search of a rare medicinal herb. During one of 

 their afternoon ramblings through a forest glade Janardan's 

 attention was arrested by a soft plaintive screaming 

 sound, which came mingled with the clear piping note of 

 a Kalij pheasant. It did not take Janardan five minutes to 

 trace the screaming to some young and unfledged parrots 

 which had their nest in a gahmar tree. One of the 

 young birds lay dead at the foot of the tree, the rest crying 

 and crowding at the entrance of a circular hole where 

 the trunk forked some eight feet above ground. It was 

 evident from a few blood-stained feathers that lay scat- 

 tered about the place that the parent birds were dead, 

 either killed by some cruel sportsman, or preyed upon 

 by some rapacious birds. Janardan did what any 

 other kind hearted man would have done in the circum- 

 stances. He rescued the famishing young creatures 

 from their perilous position, and busied himself for the 

 next half hour in feeding them, and making them comfor- 

 table. But his best endeavours proved unavailing, as 

 the poor things continued crying and gaping without 

 being able to take any nourishment. There was some- 

 thing wrong somewhere. Janardan was however, a re- 

 sourceful man, not easily discouraged by difficulties real 

 or imaginary. Having taken a somewhat long wink with 

 both eyes closed, he took out a small handful of parched 



