FAREWELL TO THE SPEAR. 97 



him with my legs, the c caster ' walked off in the 

 most steady and sedate manner. 



The walk soon became a trot, and, feeling 

 delighted with the horse's springy action, I touched 

 him with the spur, and gave him a spin of some 

 half-a-mile. The further I went, the more I was 

 pleased with my mount. He answered his bit, 

 and turned and twisted like a pony; and such 

 charming action I had seldom felt. As I pulled 

 him up to return to the rest of the party, I met 

 a ' ryot ' running along in a great state of per- 

 turbation. 



1 Sahib,' he said, * in yonder patch of sindee- 

 bushes* there is a tigress and three cubs, who 

 has terrified your slave ; for, as long as she stays 

 there, I dare not cultivate my fields. 7 



On further interrogation, the man seemed so 

 positive as to the truth of his statement that I 

 cantered back, and told the captain of the Hunt, 

 who determined to beat the cover indicated, 

 which lay in our way to the place we had origin- 

 ally intended beginning at. It was only a small 

 patch of sindee-bushes, with two or three giant 

 mango-trees growing out of its centre. The 

 ground on all sides was level and open, and con- 

 sisted of i dhall ' and grain fields, with here and 

 there a field of l bajree,' a sort of millet that 



* Phoenix farinifera. 



H 



