THE NILGIRI IBEX 



whence I inferred that he had for some time been 

 inhabiting the locality. 



Cruelly and grievously disappointed, I retraced 

 my steps to where I had left my shikarrie, but to 

 my amazement he was nowhere to be found. Dusk 

 was approaching, and not knowing the ground, and 

 seeing nothing of the man, I was obliged to shout 

 for him, although extremely unwilling to disturb the 

 place by so doing. My calls, however, elicited no 

 response from the fiend in human shape, who, as 

 now seemed probable, must have designedly dis- 

 turbed the ibex, and prevented my bagging him ; 

 though they did from the coolie who had been left 

 in a hollow, as before related, to wait for us. I had 

 fortunately made the latter bring a lantern with him, 

 and we eventually reached camp. If I remember 

 rightly, the scoundrel who had deserted me arrived 

 there after I myself did, and without being able to 

 give any satisfactory explanation of his conduct. 

 It seems probable, however, that as a "saddle- 

 back," or old buck ibex, is a great and a rare 

 prize upon the Neilgherry hills, the villain, who had 

 accompanied me as shikarrie, wanted to save this 

 animal for some local and constant patron, rather 

 than permit me, a casual visitor, to bag it. He 

 must have got up and walked up the hill in full 

 view of the ibex, while I was making my stalk, 

 and then, fearing the consequence of his villainy, 

 have considered it advisable to keep out of my way 

 as long as possible. In many years' experience of 

 big game shooting, this is the only instance of such 

 conduct on the part of a shikarrie with which I 



T 273 



