Black Bears 223 



At last, far away, the well-known vibration of tom- 

 toms, the yells of the natives ; the beaters are coming, 

 the beat has begun. Now is the time to harden the 

 heart against disappointment, or to be ready to face 

 any emergency. Two of the big deodar trunks hid 

 us all four completely. Alert, straining every nerve 

 to see and to hear, curbing every wish to move and 

 rustle, to breathe almost, we crouched, kneeling, 

 waiting. 



The tom-toms and cries gradually got nearer and 

 nearer, louder and louder ; it seemed a long time too 

 long to be in such a state of tension. I was just 

 beginning sadly to think that this honk had nothing 

 in it either, when unexpectedly came, as it always 

 comes, the supreme moment, and the present was 

 alive with reality. Lalla's sinewy back in front of 

 me was stiffened with excitement ; I caught -the gleam 

 of his eye as he turned, and the chota shikari hissed 

 <c Hdrpat " into my ear. 



We were all ready to move in a second, and there, 

 coming quickly towards us, was a great black form, 

 which now emerged into the open, now disappeared 

 behind a tree. The bear suddenly turned off to the 

 left, and was passing our stand without seeing us, when 

 at that moment the chota shikari moved and cracked 

 a stick under his foot. The bear turned and growled 

 savagely ; but a shot rang out almost simultaneously, 

 and a thick smoke hid what followed. Hit or not, 

 the bear had gone on. 



We rushed after him. Whatever happened, I knew 



