THE HUNTING GROUNDS, ETC. 307 



out for trails, aud the Gooroo and the rest of the 

 gang were busily engaged in denuding the dead 

 tigers of their spoils. 



After breakfast we strolled towards the lake, 

 where we found Hassan, who attracted our atten- 

 tion to an enormous fish which lay basking as if 

 asleep on the surface of the water, whilst several 

 others of the same species, but smaller, kept rising 

 from time to time in different parts of the pool. He 

 informed us that he had been trying for several 

 hours to catch one of these monsters with a rod, 

 but that they were too cunning to take any bait. 

 Knowing from experience that Hassan was a first- 

 rate fisherman, I felt sure that I (who at the best 

 of times am but a bungler with the rod) should 

 have a poor chance of succeeding if he could not, 



so I left B to amuse himself with bait and fly, 



whilst I returned to the hut to make preparations 

 more in my line. 



I took a common musket which Chineah used for 

 wild-fowl shooting, and to the centre of the iron 

 ramrod I firmly attached a piece of double wire, 

 about two yards in length, to the end of wliich I 

 fastened a strong log-line. This done, I loaded the 

 piece with powder and a thick felt-wadding, and 

 then inserted the ramrod, with the flat head down- 

 wards, keeping it in its place in the centre of the 

 bore with a second wad which fitted tightly in the 

 muzzle. 



My preparations completed, I returned to the 



