AN UNPROVOKED ATTACK. 237 



bear. He fired, but the bullet glanced off his head, 

 and he was immediately seized by the enraged 

 brute. As it was, he was severely hurt ; but he 

 might have been killed, had not some of the beaters, 

 who were at hand, rushed in with their little axes, 

 and either drove the beast away or killed it I 

 forget which." . 



" I heard from a friend in Rajpootana not long 

 ago," said Norman, " and he told me of a case 

 which had recently occurred near them in the 

 country of one of the rajahs. There is a good deal 

 of outlawry goes on in the petty states under native 

 government. That is to say, if any member of the 

 family, or a noble, feels aggrieved at the conduct 

 of the rajah, he becomes ' Barwutteah,' or places 

 himself in outlawry, thereby causing loss and 

 trouble to the state. Two nobles sons, I believe, 

 of the rajah in the petty state near which my friend 

 resided were in this condition ; and sought to 

 do all the injury they could to their lord para- 

 mount. Towards this end three of their armed 

 followers seized a couple of herdsmen, and were 

 conducting them through the jungle to their 

 chiefs probably with a view to ransom when a 

 bear, without the slightest provocation, attacked 

 the party. 



" As luck would have it, or with a discriminating 



