TIGER SLAYER BY ORDER 



it is almost certain to be taken. Many a shot bird thus 

 disappears as if by magic, before the gunner's eyes. There 

 is also some good fishing to be had at this camp, and I 

 caught quite a number of bright, silvery little fish, some- 

 what resembling trout which took the fly and minnow very 

 readily. We also got some murrel in a large tank close by — 

 the hook baited with, of all extraordinary things, wild 

 figs or frogs. 



A number of these murrel were also shot by some of the 

 men in camp, who fired at them from trees, as they lay 

 basking near the surface of the water. These fish are 

 excellent eating, the flesh being white and firm, with very 

 few bones. 



We were greatly annoyed at this camp by thieves at 

 night ; their dexterity was quite wonderful, and their bold- 

 ness no less surprising, for they did not even hesitate to 

 steal from my tent. With their bodies almost naked and 

 well greased, they wriggled along the ground, between the 

 sentries, and made off with everything they could lay 

 their hands on. 



A connexion of mine, who once encamped near the hills, 

 in a district where thieves as expert abounded, woke up 

 one night to find a man attempting to remove the bangle 

 from her arm. Having been previously warned of the 

 dangerous character of these men, and their unscrupulous 

 disregard of life, she had the presence of mind to feign 

 sleep, while the man by first massaging her hands and 

 using his oily fingers, eventually succeeded in slipping the 

 bangle over them. It was, doubtless, most annoying to 

 feel her bangle being abstracted, yet had she resisted, or 

 even called for help, she would, in all probability, have 

 been murdered. 



This same relative was the heroine in another, and 

 equally perilous adventure, when once staying with some 

 friends. Her hostess had driven her one evening to the 

 club, and while the former was talking to her husband 

 from the trap, the syce, unperceived by any of them, took 

 the opportunity of readjusting the pony's bit ! The driver, 

 having finished her conversation, but with her head still 

 turned to her husband, flicked the pony with the whip, 

 preparatory to starting, on which the animal, rather an 

 208 



