Sporting Trips of a Subaltern 



too that my bullet had gone home, I swung up 

 once more to the ledge, and there lay a serow 

 stone dead. This was, of course, the one I had 

 first seen, and being a fine buck, the other must 

 have been a female, and I felt glad that she 

 had escaped, though, as their horns are nearly 

 identical and otherwise they closely resemble 

 each other, I should have killed her unwittingly 

 if I had had the chance, let alone the fact that 

 I was for a moment in some danger of an ugly 

 charge. It was a harmless lesson to me never 

 to leave my rifle. 



Once more the hillmen had to be summoned, 

 but only a few this time, as though a serow is a 

 weighty beast, he was nothing compared to my 

 stag of the previous day. By midday he was in 

 camp, and after attending to my heads and skins, 

 I started at 2 o'clock to walk into Mussoorie ; it 

 took me till 9.30, going at a good steady " grind" 

 all the way. I was not sorry, after my exertions 

 of this and the previous day, to have a bit of 

 dinner and turn in, feeling fatigued and exceed- 

 ingly benevolent, as in this last day and a half 

 I had completed my collection of the specialities 

 of the locality. 



Before going down again to the plains, I had one 

 more shoot over my favourite ground. This time 

 I was again accompanied by Captain Woodyatt 

 and an officer of my own regiment, who I was 



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