A MOONLIGHT SHOT. 11 



a miniature ' Catherine wheel ;' then he turned 

 round savagely and began pitching into his bro- 

 ther. I fired my left barrel at the black, tum- 

 bling, squabbling mass, and then the most awful 

 din arose, 



* As if fiends fought in upper air, 

 And beasts on earth below.' 



The two cubs tumbled off into the jungle, howl- 

 ing, snarling, and fighting, and finally disappeared 

 into the dark depths of the jungle ; sambur 

 bellowed and peafowl screamed, whilst every jackal, 

 as it seemed, for a radius of miles gave vent to 

 his unearthly wail of 4 1 smell a dead Hind-o-o-o, 

 where? where? where? he-eah, heah, heah,' and 

 every feathered as well as four-footed denizen of 

 the forest seemed to consider themselves bound in 

 honour to join in the infernal chorus. I do not 

 think I ever heard such a discordant row in my 

 life except in the parrot-house at the Zoo. Then 

 like magic the noise ceased, and all again became 

 still. The sweet charm of the moonlight could 

 be felt as well as seen, and, as the breeze of ap- 

 proaching dawn gently stirred the tree-tops 

 clothed in their chastened brilliance, I felt that, 

 even if I had no more sport that night, my vigil 

 would not be unrewarded. 



As there was no chance of getting another shot, 



