inch. Having arranged matters as I best could, I managed to scramble up the hill, though I had some difficulty in doing so, as the back of my head and my arms, shoulders, and knees, were considerably bruised; and I felt rather shaken and tired after my encounter.

When I arrived at the caves I found B- had killed the two bears, and D had caught a young one alive. We remained there about half an hour longer, when another female and two half-grown cubs came rolling along, all of whom bit the dust before our united volley. D also went after two others which were seen coming up the hill, but were deterred from coming near the caves, having taken alarm at the firing. He killed one and severely wounded the other, but somehow or another managed to lose it.

The sun had now risen high above the horizon; the breeze had died away, and not a breath of air was stirring; a mirage was seen spread over the plain, out of which the wooded hills rose like distant islands. The sultriness was getting more and more oppressive, and it was piping hot before our coolies had managed to collect the game at the foot of the hill, which consisted of four male bears, five females, two half-grown cubs, and a very young one caught alive.

A number of village people, hearing of our sport, came to carry the game in; and my servant thought

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fully brought my pony, which I was glad of, as my foot gave me considerable pain.

I superintended the preparation of the skins (as my own man who usually did that kind of work was with the gang at Bowani) by seeing them stretched tightly and pegged down on the ground, exposed to the heat of the sun, whilst wood-ashes, cocoa-nut oil, hulde (turmeric), and arsenical soap were rubbed in.

Finding myself rather stiff and sore from my bruises, I mounted my pony "Gooty" and rode back to our bungalow at the top of the Sheveroy Hill, where I arrived late in the evening, leaving B—— and D▬▬ to continue their sport with the bears a few days longer, whilst I had my foot looked at by the Doctor, and got fit for work again.

CHAPTER XII.

BOWANI.

Sankerrydroog.—An adventure with hyenas.-Bowani.—Alligator-fishing. We start for Andior.-" Gooty," my shooting pony his pedigree and achievements.-Small-game shooting. -Antelope stalking.-Andior.-The monkeys and the Brahmins. Murrel-fishing.

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FEW days after our encounter with the bears,

I received a note from B-telling me that he had heard of rare sport near Bowani, and begging me to join him at the public bungalow at Sankerrydroog, which is two marches from Salem, and about half-way between that place and Bowani. As the wound in my foot was not quite healed I borrowed a palanquin from the collector, and starting the next evening at 4, arrived at Sankerrydroog at 6 A.M., distance thirty-five miles, having stopped a couple of hours for refreshments at M'Donald's choultry.

I found that the trophies of two bears and a fine buck spotted-deer had been taken during my absence, and B—— informed me that a large cheeta had been seen prowling about the old hill-fort for some days

previous, and that at last, after some trouble, it had been tracked (the evening before) by some of the villagers to a cave, half way up the hill, and large stones had been placed at the entrance, so as to prevent its coming out.

After breakfast we began to ascend the hill, Band D———— on foot, armed with rifles, and I mounted on my favourite little nag "Gooty," with a boar-spear and my famous dogs "Ali" and "Hassan," which were half Poligar, half bloodhound. We soon came to the entrance of the cave, which was about four feet in diameter, and, after a fruitless examination for pugs and trails, some of the villagers who were with us pulled down the stones built up at the mouth, and D- B- and a massauljee with a couple of lighted torches entered, but were almost immediately obliged to return on account of the foul air and stench within. We then placed a bundle of straw inside, and set fire to it, hoping to drive the brute out with the smoke, but no good result was obtained, although B- — thought he heard a moaning kind of noise inside. We also fired off several rockets and crackers, which had the effect of dislodging some of the inhabitants, for hundreds of curious little four-eared bats came out.

Finding that none of these annoyances would bring out the cheeta, I sent in my two dogs, and immediately knew that game was a-foot, as Ali gave

tongue the moment he entered, and very shortly afterwards dismal howls and strange rumbling noises were heard issuing from the bowels of the earth, and I began to be alarmed for the dogs, when suddenly I heard a row, and saw my poor friend D—— (who in spite of my remonstrances would stand right in front of the mouth of the cave) knocked over on the broad of his back by a huge male hyena, whilst in the twinkling of an eye the female, a couple of cubs, and my two dogs passed over him as he lay almost helpless on the ground, and made the best of their way down the hill and across some cultivated fields; B let drive a couple of shots as they passed and doubled up the female, and I descended the hill as well as I could, and after a burst of a few minutes, Gooty brought me alongside of the male, who was vainly struggling to get away from my two dogs, one of whom had hold of him by the ear, and the other on the opposite side by the throat. As I did not wish to run the chance of having either of them mauled or bitten, I drove my spear home between the shoulders, and finished the game, after which I went to look after poor D- whom I found

much shaken with the fall, his chin and throat being considerably damaged by the claws of the brutes as they passed over him.

We returned to the bungalow, convinced that the villagers had mistaken the hyena for a cheeta; and