ROUGHING IT IN SOUTHERN INDIA 277 



these threats, F. said, he still felt himself utterly powerless 

 to stir, and on that account, and because he was in no sort 

 of pain, he was beginning to think he must be paralysed ; 

 but at the bare notion of such a thing he found strength to 

 scramble up from under the creature's very nose. It was 

 breath he was short of, his legs would serve. 



The men were at no great distance, one of them carrying 

 the spare rifle, and they had their wits about them — so far 

 as wits might avail — and were to the full as concerned for 

 their master as for themselves. Watching his opportunity, 

 the rifle-bearer darted sideways, dropped this last hope 

 into the grass, and placed a stick upright beside it to enable 

 F. to find it easily, all of them the while dancing and shouting 

 like demons to distract, if possible, the bull's attention from 

 its object. But no ; it was not to be so distracted, for he 

 never so much as turned an eye on any of them. 



Running his best — a bad best after the tossing — F. must 

 now needs stumble, but picked himself up, turning round 

 so that he might at any rate see what was in store, the rifle 

 being out of reach as yet. As he stood, so did the bull for 

 a space, with his forelegs planted out and his hoofs dug into 

 the turf, bellowing ferociously, and snorting with exertions 

 so ill suited to him. In another second, before F. could slip 

 to one side, he plunged forward full tilt at him, knocking him 

 down and standing over him, the foam-flecks dropping from 

 his mouth on to F.'s face. 



That the next moment held but two alternatives seemed 

 certain : either a second tossing, where one was enough ; or 

 to feel the point of a horn — the sort he was wont so greatly 

 to admire — through his chest and pinning him to the 

 ground. But as a man cannot think of every possibility, 

 F. did not in his extremity guess what that moment held 

 for him. The huge brown head bent lower and lower, till 

 the bloodshot eyes were beneath, and it was in position for 

 what looked likely to be the last scene in this act. There 



