AN UNCERTAIN TRAIL. 397 



plentifully sprinkled about, the bear had made good 

 use of the start he had gained, and was out of 

 sight. 



Roopur now took up the trail, which, from the 

 quantity of blood, was for some time a very easy 

 matter. But when this failed, and it became 

 difficult to trace the foot-print among the stones, 

 not only did he make some very scientific casts, but 

 he displayed no little generalship in another way. 

 Summoning a couple of the men, he directed them 

 to ascend the hill on the right of the nullah down 

 which he was tracking, and make across to a ravine 

 which he was aware lay on the other side, and 

 which joined that he was now in round the 

 shoulder of the hill. He mentioned a certain spot 

 to which they should go, and there watch ; for, 

 from his knowledge of the ground, he believed it 

 likely the bear would make in that direction. In 

 the mean time, he himself continued with the 

 hunters on the trail. 



Another half-hour passed, and the tracking was 

 becoming very uncertain, for great slabs of sheet 

 rock and other obstacles to pugging were of 

 frequent occurrence, when a shout from the hill 

 above arrested them. Very few words were neccs- 



/ 



sary to make them understand that the bear had 

 been seen ; indeed a few signals were nil that 



