THE TEAK EEGION 201 



and without being seen. We only saw the ridge of his 

 back and the tips of his horns as he stole up the other 

 side of the spur after the hinds. It is of no use for two 

 men to follow one lot of sambar ; so, as it lay in my beat, 

 I took after these deer, while T. held on up the valley. 

 When I got tathe top — a stifE climb of five or six hundred 

 feet — ^the eastern heavens were suffused with that beautiful 

 greenish yellow flush which immediately precedes sunrise 

 in an Indian sky. It was light enough (it never is very 

 dark at any time of night at this season of the year) to 

 distinguish a couple of the Bheels perched on a higher 

 peak of the same range; and on seeing me top the rise 

 one of them stole softly down to me, and said that the 

 herd, followed by the stag, had proceeded leisurely down 

 the thickly wooded decKvity on the opposite side. After 

 a consultation, it was determined that I should keep 

 along the top of the ridge, while two of the Bheels were to 

 follow the track of the herd, and if they saw them come up 

 and let me know. I went along slowly from one com- 

 manding point to another, keeping a little ahead of the 

 Bheels, who tracked the herd along the slope, not very 

 far below the top. In the course of one of these moves 

 I started the herd from some long grass near the top. 

 There were fifteen or twenty of them, but no good stags, 

 so far as I could see as they bustled away along the MU-side 

 in a confused mob, the round light-coloured patches on 

 their rumps looking like so many targets as they switched 

 their tails in the air. It was very tempting, but I wanted 

 the fine horns of the stag and let them go. I was rewarded 

 soon after by the appearance of the stag, walking slowly 

 along in the same line, and showing by his dignified gait 

 that he had no suspicion of danger. He was passing 

 about a hundred yards below me when I pulled on his 

 shoulder with the little single "Express" rifle, and he 

 fell to the shot without a sound. The Bheels came 

 running up at once, and as I had not gone down to the 

 stag proceeded to cut his throat in the orthodox Maho- 

 medan fashion, though I am certain he was stone dead 

 long before they arrived. He was one of the finest harts 

 I ever saw — ^in beautiful condition, with much of the cold- 



