CHAPTER LXI. 



AN UNPLEASANT BEDFELLOW. 



tHE time has now arrived when I must take up the history of .ny friends, and, 

 for awhile, pursue them separately. 

 A thrilling experience fell to the lot of both parties, and I propose to gire 

 the narratives in full, leaving the account of Jack Harvey and Bob Marshall's adven- 

 tures in Equatorial Africa, in search of the gorilla, chimpanzee, and other curiosities, 

 for the close of this volume. Having seen them started on their way to that pes- 

 tilential region, by way of Cape Town, we will follow Mr. Godkin and Dick Brownell 

 to India, where I am sure you will find their experiences worth reading. 



I have not time nor the space, nor would you care to have me give the particu- 

 lars of the voyage to Calcutta and up the Ganges to Lucknow, famous for the 

 massacre and siege during the Sepoy mutiny of which Mr. Godkin had given an 

 entertaining incident. 



Let us open the story after the arrival of our friends in that neighborhood, fully 

 prepared for the prosecution of their search for natural curiosities for The Greatest 

 Show on Earth. 



A mishap occurred on the very threshold of the enterprise. Whi.e completing 

 their arrangements in Lucknow, some conscienceless thief stole both their repeating 

 rifles. The help of the police was secured, but no trace of the weapons could be 

 found, and, unwilling to lose any more valuable time, and unable to obtain Win- 

 chesters, Mr. Godkin secured a couple of the well-known English Express pattern, 

 with twenty-two inch barrel, single shot breech-loaders- They set out on their 

 hunt with some misgiving, but consoled themselves with the thought that their 

 fire-arms were of the kind popular with English sportsmen, and they had figured in 

 some of the most stirring adventures in the jungles of India. 



Dick Brownell was a young man who kept his eyes and ears open, and strove to 

 acquaint himself with everything worth learning. I cannot pretend to give on- 

 half of the entertaining contents of his letters, but I recall that he said he was 

 specially interested in two animals of which he saw numerous specimens before 

 engaging in hunting in India. 



One of these was the domestic beast known as the zebu, which has a curious fatty 

 hump projecting from the withers, and a heavy dewlap falling in thick folds from 

 the throat. The zebu is a quiet, intelligent animal, and is used in drawing either 

 carriages or plows. 



One of the most familiar varieties is the famous Brahmin bull, which, being 

 stamped with the sacred mark of Siva, is allowed to wander about and do just as it 

 pleases, no one venturing to disturb or offend him in the slightest degree. 



M 337 



