CHAPTER XXVI 



I HAD arranged to spend Christmas with a civilian friend 



named M , who was now in charge of a sub-division of 



the district a large but sparsely populated tract of 

 country, being covered for the most part, in those days, 

 with dense jungle, through which I had been camping for a 

 week before reaching my friend's bungalow. 



This was a curious-looking structure which, except for 

 its wooden posts, seemed to be constructed entirely of 

 bamboo, the walls and even ceilings being composed of 

 this useful reed, while strips of it, woven into matting, 

 covered the floors. 



Here, some fifty miles from the nearest European, my 

 friend had lived his strange solitary life for nearly two 

 years, and he still seemed to enjoy his solitary existence. 

 The reason, however, became apparent later when, on 

 going over the house with my host after breakfast, I saw 

 the hunting trophies which adorned the bamboo walls. 

 There must have been nearly a hundred heads and skins 

 of almost every species of wild animal to be found in 

 those jungles, but mostly of tigers and such beasts as are 

 dangerous to human life and village cattle. 



And yet, strangely enough, my friend had never been 

 a sportsman till posted to this place ; but, finding the work 

 was light, and time consequently hanging heavy on his 

 hands, he had taken to shooting, at first merely as a 

 pastime. This taste, however evidently inherited from 

 his father, a sporting old Indian colonel had gradually 

 developed till, judging from results, he was now as efficient 

 with a rifle as he was by reputation one of the ablest 

 officers of his service. 



His case was a curious corroboration of the hereditary 

 theory, especially with reference to the new competitive 

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