322 The Hunting Grounds 



were supposed to hold twenty-eight pounds when full. 

 The flesh proved to be coarse, rank, and tough, but 

 some of the gang, who made part of it into a curry, 

 said it was not bad eating. 



As we were strolling about the ravine with our 

 rifles whilst the gang were engaged in skinning the 



dead tigress, B discovered the entrance of a cave 



in the scarped overhanging cliff near our hut, and 

 having nothing better to do we determined to explore 

 it. Naga and Eamasawmy were accordingly des- 

 patched for torches, blue-lights, matches, etc., and 

 after carefully examining our rifles so as to be ready 

 in case we found it tenanted by bears or hyenas (not 

 an unlikely occurrence), we crept in, Naga leading 

 with a torch, I following with B , and Eama- 

 sawmy with another torch bringing up the rear. 



The entrance was about four feet high and three 

 broad, but it shortly became much more lofty, and 

 from the light of our torches we saw numbers of 

 pointed stalactites hanging from the roof in every 

 direction which threw perplexing shadows as we 

 advanced, and every now and then made us think 

 that some animal was moving towards us. 



After proceeding for about forty yards, we came to 

 a vast chamber, where we were very much annoyed 

 by myriads of small bats that, alarmed at our intru- 

 sion, came dashing up against our faces, and almost 

 put out the torches. /: 



