PANDU THE GOND, 35 



less than three gallons. Leaf-cup after leaf-cup 

 would be drained, and beyond a grunt of satisfac- 

 tion and an endearing word to Motee, his little 

 shikaree bullock and constant companion, he would 

 continue drinking till he spent all his money at one 

 sitting. A favourite expression of his to denote his 

 poverty was, that " the skin of his stomach adhered 

 to his backbone." This was almost literally true, 

 for he was painfully emaciated. On an occasion 

 like this however his abdomen would visibly swell, 

 till he resembled a water-bag mounted on two 

 sticks. When he had drunk his " skinful " Pandu 

 would stand with his back leaning against a tree, 

 one foot resting on the other, his head bent forward 

 and his hands hanging straight down. He would 

 stand in this position for hours, muttering to him- 

 self, the vigilant Motee keeping watch the while 

 and allowing no one, man or beast, to approach his 

 master. 



I have read of the affection of a dog for its master, 

 but nothing could surpass the devotion of this little 

 bullock to Pandu. Motee (the pearl) was an ordi- 

 nary Indian bullock, about four feet high and of the 

 whitey-brown colour common among the stunted 

 cattle in native villages. He was thoroughly trained 

 to shikar by Pandu, and seemed to comprehend his 

 master's wishes intuitively. A glance, and Motee 

 would move forward or backward, as required. A 

 motion of the finger, and he would lie down or 

 kick up his heels and rush about as if mad. Pandu 

 did all his stalking with the aid of this bullock, and 

 much of his success depended on its intelligence. 



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