We climbed and scrambled up and down and in and out of many sheltered and well-timbered gorges, until the hunters warned us that we were approaching our stations.
The beaters disappeared, making a détour of some li, to beat up the many crooked twists and turns which the drive took. Hours passed while we, hot, hungry, and athirst, lay hidden in the rank bush awaiting a sight of the quarry. For the first hour no sound broke the serenity of the valley; presently, however, the cries of the beaters came to us, wafted from below or floating lazily from the surrounding heights. At first only a distant moaning, like the sobbing of a storm among the trees of a forest, broke upon our ears. The strange sounds created much restlessness among the wild wood-pigeons, the cooing doves, and the cheery, chattering magpies. Red-breasted storks rose with disdainful elegance from the shallows of the trickling stream and soared towards other pools. The mists of night rolled away from the valley; the dew disappeared from the matted undergrowth; the sun mounted; the day grew warmer. The blood coursed through our veins as we peered hither and thither, scanning the opposite face of the valley with the keenest vigilance. The beaters were ascending. The harsh cries of their raucous voices broke upon the air. The air vibrated with eerie noises; a spasmodic howling arose from the depths of the valley, where an isolated beater lashed himself into a fever of vociferous discord. Hoarse shouts boomed above us, and echoed against the crags of the gorge. On either side of us, the valley resounded to the labours of the beaters, who, gaining the extreme crests, had now descended, driving everything before them. They approached rapidly, joined by the native hunters, who had now taken up positions upon the
