

Pakhal Naddi of the Palm Trees. 45 





parted, close to where I had been posted with another 

 spear H. and an enormous grey pig emerged, halted, 

 eyed us an instant, and with a " humph !" of churlish disgust 

 turned, and trotted coolly along the covert side, to disappear 

 again into its shelter as he made off up-stream. He was 

 shortly followed by a fine black boar, a shade bigger if any- 

 thing, who pursued the same casual tactics with even less 

 hurry. However, they must have put on the pace after 

 this, for a few seconds later, two natives, who had been 

 cutting brushwood quite two hundred yards away, rushed 

 from the ndla in suppliant attitudes ; and we understood 

 thereby that the pigs were taking a line straight away 

 through the ndla for the now familiar Chandrabhaga. Cross- 

 ing the stream at a little clearing therefore, H. went up the 

 far side, while I trotted up mine : the others had taken up 

 unlucky positions and could not be seen. 



Near the head of the sindhtbund, where it ceased and the 

 ordinary dry samalu-bushed watercourse began, I halted 

 and awaited events ; but my luck was out, for the boars 

 did not come out so far up, and I shortly spied two rapidly 

 moving objects half a mile away, and made out H. riding a 

 big pig single-handed. 



To gallop across the shingle, and set the mare going in 

 this direction, was the work of a moment; and, my mount 

 being fresh, I rapidly approached the scene of action, just 

 too late however, for, as we forged alongside, H. scored first 

 spear a bit " abaft o' the mizzen " though, and the boar, 

 the heaviest I had yet seen, and evidently our black 

 acquaintance of a few minutes before, jinked across my front. 

 Gallantly the little mare responded, and, with a bound for- 

 ward, the spear point entered behind the small ribs, high tip, 

 and stood out from his brawny chest. None of us were 

 rich in spears in those early days, so, fearing a smash, I let 



