JAUNTS IN THE JUNGLE. 17 



gesture, but he either could not or would not under- 

 stand ; so the next resource I had recourse to was 

 turning out the contents of my pockets every body 

 knows the heterogeneous variety of merchandise con- 

 tained in a shooting-coat pocket and by dint of 

 coaxing the old man, and offering him one thing 

 after the other, I so far gained his confidence as to 

 get near him, although it was very much in the same 

 manner that one would approach a sulky mastiff ; 

 but, as luck would have it, the article that settled the 

 business, and gained us the whole tribe's good will 

 in a fixity of tenure, was the brass regimental whistle 

 and chain which the Malay a corporal in the Ceylon 

 rifles had luckily brought with him. 



No sooner did the patriarchal Veddah understand 

 how to make it send forth a squeak, than his delight 

 became unbounded ; he grinned demoniacal gratifica- 

 tion, and the chief difficulty now seemed to consist in 

 ever getting him to leave off. 



The others, gaining courage, one by one began to 

 gather round him, and, remaining at some little dis- 

 tance, I had a chance of thoroughly observing this 

 singular and outcast tribe of people, of whom there 

 were present four men and two women. 



Whether it was the overpowering melody of the 

 screeching brass, or my own very amicable and 

 assuring demeanour, that imparted fresh courage, I 

 cannot say, but in a very short space of time the re- 

 maining five were all cringing round, and pawing us, 

 c 



