86 ROUGHING IT IN SOUTHERN INDIA 



but, remembering the explanation given us before, we were 

 not so much perturbed, and guided by the sound of the 

 uproar looked about for its cause. Not far off we soon 

 discovered three bears, two of which were locked in mortal 

 combat, while the third was running round and round them, 

 every now and then raising itself on its hind legs and wring- 

 ing its fore paws, whimpering and whining, in the deepest 

 distress, without any anger in the tone — the very gestures 

 and manner of one beseeching the combatants to cease their 

 strife, just as a lady of olden time might have prayed two 

 gallants to be reconciled for her sake. But the bears had no 

 idea of such magnanimity ; they rolled over and over, never 

 letting go, biting, tearing, hugging savagely enough to 

 crush the breath out of each other, and all the while yelling 

 with fury. The sight and sound were enough to freeze any 

 one's blood, the fight not being a sham or behind iron bars. 

 As there was nowhere to hide we tried to run away, but 

 fell at almost every step as we tore headlong over the 

 tussocky grass and uneven, stony ground, not daring to 

 look behind. Nobody was paying any attention to us — 

 except to laugh ! — as we were told by F. when he came 

 in that evening, laughing again at the recollection, which 

 he said was so amusing ! 



' Yes, I saw you ; we all saw you and your ayah trying 

 to break your ankles running away from nothing.' (He 

 called it ' nothing ' !) ' Those bears were fighting over a 

 female bear, none of them noticed you, and wouldn't have 

 interfered with you if they had. There was nothing for 

 you to be frightened at.' My private opinion, and Logan- 

 harri's too, was that ninety-nine people out of a hundred 

 would have thought there was a good deal more than 

 * nothing ' and have behaved as we did. 



' You ought to have been with us,' F. went on ; 'it 

 was a grand sight. We saw the scrimmage to the finish. 

 One of them rolled the other over, disabling him for the 



