210 DAYS AND NIGHTS OF SHIKAR 



party started for the burning, four men carrying the 

 dead woman on a stretcher, and one woman walking 

 alongside, wailing and beating her breast. She 

 looked so tiny and thin, lying there, wrapped in her 

 red sari. Then the wailing died away in the distance. 



I had been in hospital a month and it was settled 

 that on the following Sunday I should be fit to get 

 up and go into camp once more, but on the Friday 

 the nice kind police inspector came to see me. He 

 said : 



" Why don't you send on the shikari first to go 

 out and tie up, and stay on here until there is a kill ? 

 The doctor says you should not go yet and he doesn't 

 like to tell you so, and at the same time does not 

 want to disappoint you. You would be much better 

 for his care for some days longer. What good will 

 it do going out? " 



I was about tired of bed, but he and the doctor 

 had talked it over together, and what he said was 

 such sound sense that I gave in. After a few days 

 Rattan Lai came in, and said I might get up next 

 day and walk round the bed, and see whether I felt 

 any ill effects, or if I had a stiff leg. So quite early 

 I got up and started on my journey round the room : 

 I was lame, but that seemed to be all. It was dull 

 work walking there, so I called to Govind and told 

 him to have the pony saddled. He stared at me, 

 looking quite scared. I said it would be all right, 

 I was not going far and the pony boy was to come 

 with me. I dressed, Joggins was brought round and 

 I mounted from the veranda steps. It was quite 

 delightful to be out again, in the fresh morning, 



