OF THE OLD WORLD. 309 



but some of the gang, who made part of it into a 

 curry, said it was not bad eating. 



As we were strolling about the ravine with our 

 rifles whilst the gang were engaged in skinning the 



dead tigress, B discovered the entrance of a 



cave in the scarped overhanging cliff near our hut, 

 and having nothing better to do we determined to 

 explore it, Naga and Ramasawmy were accordingly 

 despatched for torches, blue-lights, matches, &c., 

 and after carefully examining our rifles so as to be 

 ready in case we found it tenanted by bears or 

 hyenas, (not an unlikely occurrence,) we crept in, 



Naga leading with a torch, I following with B , 



and Eamasawmy with another torch bringing up 

 the rear. 



The entrance was about four feet high and three 

 broad, but it shortly became much more lofty, and 

 from the light of our torches we saw numbers of 

 pointed stalactites hanging from the roof in every 

 direction, which threw perplexing shadows as we 

 advanced, and every now and then made us think 

 that some animal was moving towards us. 



After proceeding for about forty yards, we came 

 to avast chamber, where we were very much annoyed 

 by myriads of small bats that, alarmed at our intru- 

 sion, came dashing up against our faces, and almost 

 put out the torches. 



Having peered about carefully to make sure there 

 were no beasts of any kind likely to molest us, I 

 lio-hted a couple of blue-lights, which enabled us to 



