THE FIRST PANTHER 7 



was pitched in a grove of mango trees; it was a 

 beautiful camp with lovely shade not far from the 

 village. 



Bumps and Bristler, the spaniel and terrier, had 

 been brought with the cart, and after the sun had 

 risen had been allowed to run alongside. I was 

 playing with them and was rubbing Bumps down the 

 back, when he wrenched himself free and screamed 

 with pain. I looked, and could see nothing to 

 account for it, so asked the boy what was the matter. 

 He said that when the spaniel was running with the 

 cart, the sun was very hot and that the dog dropped 

 down unconscious as if he had had a fit. He was 

 put back in the cart and gradually recovered. 

 Afterwards, a long deep blister appeared down the 

 length of his back, and all the hair came off, leaving 

 a scar for life. The veterinary surgeon told me it 

 was a case of sunstroke and he thought that the dog 

 would certainly have died, had it not been for the 

 healing relief of the blister. 



At night both dogs seemed uneasy. The horse 

 was stamping, and I woke up hearing the servants 

 talking. They said there were some terrible animals 

 crawling all over their legs and biting them, and that 

 no one could sleep. I, being off the ground, in my 

 camp-bed, was free. There was no help for it until 

 morning, except that the dogs were called on to 

 the tent carpet, where they seemed fairly content ; 

 but the servants and horse suffered badly. 



When dawn came, we searched about to find out 

 what these insects were. We had not far to look. 

 The ground was simply alive with them things 



