THE TERROR OF HUNSUR. 53 



officer on a visit to that station. They had come 



with letters of introduction to Colonel M in 



charge of the Amrat Mahal at Hunsur, and that 

 officer had done all in his power to dissuade the 

 youngsters from going after the " rogue/' as he saw 

 plainly that they were green at shikar and did not 

 fully comprehend the risks they would be running, 

 nor had they experience enough to enable them to 

 provide against possible contingencies. Finding 

 however that dissuasion only strengthened their 

 determination to brave all danger, he thought 

 he would do the next best thing by giving 

 them the best mount possible for such a task. 

 Among the recent arrivals at the Commissariat 

 lines was " Dod Kempa" (the Great Red One), 

 a famous tusker sent down all the way from 

 Secunderabad to do battle with Peer Bux. 

 Dod Kempa was known to be staunch, as he had 

 been frequently used for tiger-shooting in the 

 notorious Nirmul jungles and had unflinchingly 

 stood the charge of a wounded tiger. His mahout 

 declared that the Terror of Hunsur would run at 

 the mere sight of Dod Kempa, for had not his 

 reputation gone forth throughout the length and 

 breadth of India, even among the elephant folk ? 

 Kempa was not as tall as Peer Bux, but was more 

 sturdily built, with short, massive tusks. He was 

 mottled all over his body with red spots : hence his 

 name Kempa (red). He was a veritable bull-dog 

 among elephants and was by no means a hand- 

 some brute, but he had repeatedly done good ser- 

 vice in bringing to order recalcitrant pachyderms, 



