BLUE BULL STALKING. 51 



the bottom of a steep avenue which wound up a hill- 

 side, at the top of which we could see the white 

 bungalow. Up and up the road wound, and as the 

 precipitous bank was entirely unprotected, it may be 

 imagined that we lost no time in jumping out when 

 the tonga ponies, by commencing to jib, gave us a 

 hint that they would prefer a lighter load to drag up. 

 A few paces more brought us to the house, which, 

 except in its situation, did not differ greatly from most 

 dawk bungalows. This particular house of call, how- 

 ever, not being near a high-road, was not primarily 

 intended for travellers' accommodation, but for the use 

 of those officers of the Irrigation and Forest Services 

 whose duties called them to the spot. 



It was dinner time when we arrived, and before very 

 long we were seated at table in the verandah, enjoying 

 the lovely scene which lay before our eyes. To the 

 right and close to the bungalow itself, lay the bund or 

 embankment of the tank, a gigantic wall of masonry 

 some two hundred yards long and perhaps seventy 

 feet high, backed by the dark foliage of a mango tope. 

 The tank or lake which was formed by this wall was 

 extended at our feet, and ran up as far as we could 

 see to our left, where it wound out of sight, thus giving 

 the impression of a much larger sheet of water than I 

 afterwards discovered it to be, for it really ended just 

 beyond the corner. The clear rays of the moon 

 showed up the water and the steep hills that enclosed 

 it, but as they did not expose the arid and sterile 

 nature of those hills, the tout ensemble suggested one 

 of the minor lakes of England. 



E 2 



