206 Sporting Notes in the Far East. 



In a plain at the foot of the undisturbed slope, was visible a fine 

 stag with a grand head : one hind alone in company. Easy stalk- 

 ing, all down hill through the long grass, and wind was favourable. 



Off we started, sitting and sliding like a ghost, dressed in invisible 

 grey : our clothes had been soaked in a solution of Indian ink, and 

 this neutral shade matched the cinder-coloured rocks to perfection. 



Reconnoitring cautiously, everything promised well ; animals still 

 feeding about two hundred yards distant, and drawing out confi- 

 dentially from the coverts edge ; when suddenly a gun was fired at 

 a buzzard by our young friend half a mile off. The first shot 

 caused alarm, at the second they began making off : and at the third 

 they broke into a canter towards the nearest point of the jungle. 

 Five more deer trotted in single file past the ridge we had just 

 crossed, but alas ! out of range for a smooth-bore. Rough luck all 

 round ! We sat on a stone, regardless of the rain, dejected in 

 spirits, wet and angry. 



A large hind broke, cover from the direction the shots had been 

 fired, and heading my way at a canter, was soon within range. She 

 pulled up quite short when within eighty yards, not satisfied with 

 the wind. Motionless I sat, all same " wooden image " ; quite in 

 sight of her, but rendered invisible even at that distance, by the 

 similarity of colour and shade. She stood like a statue in bronze 

 for a long minute, ears, nose, and eyes all trimmed to the wind from 

 my direction. It was an anxious moment ; and we both remained 



