208 THE HIGHLANDS OF CENTRAL INDIA 



telescope showed to be a miglity bull. He stood for a 

 few minutes till tlie cows came up and passed across Mm 

 and then stalked solemnly after them. He, too, was no 

 doubt going to Dbowtea ! We were walking on disgusted 

 when my eye caught another jet-black figure among the 

 trees ahead of us, and we crouched into nothing as another 

 bull walked slowly into an open space about half a mile 

 ahead. After gazing round in every direction he slowly 

 began to descend to the same valley. He, too, appeared 

 like the rest of them, to have started for Dhowtea. But 

 he was not there yet, and we determined at least to give 

 him a run for it ; so, waiting till he was concealed by the 

 faU of the ground, we doubled down a rocky watercourse, 

 to cut him off, if possible, from the valley. We succeeded ; 

 for he evidently got our wind, and sheered off from the 

 pass down to the river, walking slowly and magnificently 

 along the edge of a precipitous faU, apparently looking 

 for another way down. There was none such, however; 

 and we followed him along in short running stalts, gaining 

 on him every time he got hidden for a minute by inequalities 

 of the ground. The hill we were on gradually narrowed to 

 the saddleback form so common in this range, and not far 

 ahead seemed to terminate in an abrupt descent to the 

 valley. There seemed to be no doubt we had him in a 

 trap if we would only have patience; for he must either 

 take that header to reach the valley, or charge back along 

 the ridge over our mangled corpses ! He became very 

 cautious as he neared the end, zigzagging across the 

 narrow ridge, and using all his senses to detect the pursuer 

 he evidently suspected. We were slowly roasting on the 

 bare, shadeless sheet of basalt that topped the ridge, lying 

 as we had to do prone on it to escape his sight. I would 

 have given a rupee per drop for the contents of our water- 

 sack just then. At last, after what seemed an age, the tall 

 black form of the bull slowly sank over the end of the hill. 

 He was going down, then, after all, and there was nothing 

 for it but a rush. A rush we accordingly made; but 

 suddenly pulled up, much taken aback, as we saw the bull 

 again emerge and stand in fuU sight of us, though much 

 covered about the body by scrubby salei stems, on the 



