H El MAN'S DATCH. 99 



very tantalising, appearance. However, we left 

 them to their own devices and, feeling sure of pork 

 chops for dinner, continued our hunt. 



Twice I heard swine close to me, and both 

 my men saw game again during the afternoon ; 

 but the covert was so dense that we none of us 

 got another shot, and, what was worse, all lost 

 our way. The sun, which had been our guide, 

 went down all in a moment, and left us in the 

 dark without a compass to steer by. For two 

 hours and a half I struggled through jungle that 

 tore me to pieces, and threw me down every few 

 yards. I climbed out of a ravine up the white 

 face of a cliff, gun in hand, which cliff I in- 

 spected by daylight on another occasion, and 

 would not climb again for the best day's shoot- 

 ing that man ever had ; and at last, fagged and 

 bleeding, came upon Ivan resting, with his pig 

 up aloft keeping watch for him. 



After getting the pig down and finding Ye- 

 pheem, we started on the back track ; but, though 

 the track had been comparatively easy by daylight, 

 with no pig to drag along, we lost it in about 

 five minutes now. In another ten minutes we 

 were completely lost, and, realizing the fact, pre- 

 pared to meet it. We had, fortunately, between 

 us two boxes of matches, furnished with which 

 Yepheem gave us an occasional glimmer of light, 

 by which Ivan hewed away with his kinjal 



II 2 



