320 THE BARA SING. 



of the new beat, and saw with disappointment that, 

 though the slopes were extensive, they were very steep, 

 and the ravines, though admirably adapted for coverts, 

 were very rugged, precipitous, and inaccessible. There 

 were probably many deer there, and we might see them ; 

 but to get at them, to cross from one slope to another, 

 was out of the question. Many places, where deer had 

 couched in the rank grass, were passed on the upper 

 slopes, but still I felt a misgiving that we should do 

 nothing there. 



We turned off the ridge to the left, to our camp ground 

 which overhung the valley we had come from. In the 

 afternoon I went out to watch and listen, and heard a 

 stag bellow. We got opposite his position, a ravine 

 dividing us, when we were compelled to leave him as it 

 was now dusk, and returned to camp with the under- 

 standing that we would beat up his quarters in the 

 morning. I could hear the stags in the deep vale below, 

 and regretted having given them up. 



The night was very chill, and the forest damp with its 

 dead leaves and decaying vegetation. But a rousing fire 

 of dry fir spread a glow and warmth around. It is a 

 delightful thing, a bright, crackling fire on a cold night 

 in the forest. There are not many remaining for me 

 to enjoy now, as to-morrow closes my hunting season: 

 the next day is Sunday, and on Monday morning I must 

 make tracks for Sirinuggur. 



13th October. As previously agreed we were ready to 

 start at earliest dawn, and on reaching the ravine, where 

 we heard the stag last night, we stopped to listen. Erfi 

 long we were rewarded by the low bleat of a doe, which 

 was once or twice repeated. Then came answering the 

 hoarse cry of a stag. These animals would seem to be 

 in some thick trees opposite us, across the ravine. 



