402 The Hunting Grounds 



send some of his people to follow up the trail as soon 

 as it became light enough to see the marks left by 

 the horses' feet ; but he, with true Mussulman apathy, 

 declared that a pursuit would be useless, as the plun- 

 derers had got too long a start. 



Of this I did not feel at all sure, knowing the 

 extreme difficulty of getting over the ground in the 

 dark, in a wooded country ; so I determined to give 

 chase with my own people, accompanied by the 

 herdsman, who had shown us the bear's lair, the day 

 before, and a couple of young men of the tribe, who 

 professed not only to know the country well, but also 

 imagined they could hit upon the haunts of the 

 cattle-lifters. 



Having buried our superfluous baggage, we set off 

 in light marching order as soon as the day broke; 

 and, falling upon the trail almost immediately, fol- 

 lowed it up in Indian file, as fast as the rocky nature 

 of the ground permitted. It appeared that the 

 culprits were six in number, as there were marks of 

 two having remained in charge of six horses some 

 short distance off; whilst four others prowled about 

 our bivouac in search of plunder. 



After a fatiguing ride of several hours' duration, 

 over hill and dale, through woods and across rivers, 

 we came to a marshy swamp which bore the appear- 

 ance of having recently been disturbed by horses' 

 hoofs; so on we pushed with renewed vigour, and 



