THE PATLI DUN 47 



in the coming night, and the day was dark 

 and drizzling. The shikari, therefore, agreed 

 that it would be quite useless for me to sit up 

 after nightfall ; and it was arranged that he 

 should come with the elephant to fetch me as 

 soon as it was dark. When the machan was 

 tied I had approved its position, but on climbing 

 into it I found that it was unsuitably located. 

 In the first place, it was not more than 12 feet, 

 at the outside, from the ground, and this was 

 not high enough to be comfortable on a dark night ; 

 and, in the second, it was tied at right angles to 

 the carcase of the buffalo, and so close above it 

 that I could only see to shoot at an animal near, 

 or on, the carcase, by sitting on the very extreme 

 outer edge of the machan. The afternoon was, 

 however, well advanced, and I decided to make the 

 best of the situation and settled myself for a vigil. 

 The calling of the chital, with which the 

 Dun abounded, kept my mind occupied; and, 

 although the drizzling rain was uncomfortable, 

 the time passed not unpleasantly until darkness 

 settled on the land. I then began to be impatient 

 and annoyed with the men for not coming to 

 relieve me. It was too dark to see anything, 

 and I was sitting with my rifle across my knees, 

 quite without hope, when what appeared to be 

 the call of a sambur rang out in the stillness, 

 and I felt that the tiger had arrived. I have 

 heard a Forest Officer, with much experience 

 as a shikari, say that a tiger can, and does, 

 imitate the call of a stag when approaching a 

 kill ; but my impression at the time was that the 

 call was the startled call of a stag. That the 



