Fourteen Thousand Feet High 211 



Lalla was by this time wrought up into the highest 

 pitch of excitement ; indeed, it was quite impossible 

 to be an inert spectator, and I prayed that something, 

 at least, might appear. But no ; the " watched pot " 

 never boiled ! On came the war-cries, nearer and 

 nearer ; still there was nothing. 



At last the straggling line of coolies began to appear ; 

 alas ! there was no harfdt in that beat. It was 

 peculiarly irritating, and exactly like natives, that the 

 nearer they got to us, and even when they were 

 within a few yards, the louder they yelled and shouted ; 

 we were obliged to pelt them with a pebble or two 

 to induce them to cease their maddening noise. 



One thing was clear at least, that they beat ex- 

 tremely badly, ten or twelve of them going together 

 in a clump, and never properly beating out a nullah 

 at all. The headman was harangued and rated on this 

 point ; and then we walked off to have another honk. 



Again we found ourselves on high ground, and after 

 half an hour's wait the beaters began. We were 

 hidden, waiting in perfect silence for twenty minutes, 

 perhaps, listening to the tom-toms and the shouts rising 

 and falling, when all in a moment they changed into 

 a piercing clamour, and a yell arose from a hundred 

 and fifty throats. " Hdrpat / harpdt ! " we could 

 almost distinguish. 



Lalla and the chota shikari could hardly contain 

 themselves. We waited five minutes, perhaps, and 

 then, straight in front of us, bundling up the slope, 

 came a great shaggy red bear, not a black one ; he 



