indolent flap of his tail. The brilliant kingfisher, resplendent in
crimson and emerald, sat on the withered branch of a prostrate
mango-tree close by, pluming his feathers and doubtless meditating on
the vanity of life. Suddenly, close by the massive post which marks the
centre of every Hindoo tank, a huge scaly snout slowly and almost
imperceptibly rose to the surface, then a broad, flat, forbidding
forehead, topped by two grey fishy eyes with warty-looking callosities
for eyebrows. Just then an eager urchin who had been squatted by me for
hours, pointed to the brute. It was enough. Down sank the loathsome
creature, and we had to resume our attitude of expectation and patient
waiting. Another hour passed slowly. It was the middle of the
afternoon, and very hot. I had sent my _tokedar_ off for a 'peg' to the
factory, and was beginning to get very drowsy, when, right in the same
spot, the repulsive head again rose slowly to the surface. I had my
trusty No. 12 to my shoulder on the instant, glanced carefully along
the barrels, but just then only the eyes of the brute were invisible. A
moment of intense excitement followed, and then, emboldened by the
extreme stillness, he showed his whole head above the surface. I pulled
the trigger, and a Meade shell crashed through the monster's skull,
scattering his brains in the water and actually sending one splinter of
the skull to the opposite edge of the tank, where my little Hindoo boy
picked it up and brought it to me.

There was a mighty agitation in the water; the water-lilies rocked to
and fro, and the broad leaves glittered with the water drops thrown on
them; then all was still. Hearing the report of my gun, the natives
came flocking to the spot, and, telling them their enemy was slain, I
departed, leaving instructions to let me know when the body came to the
surface. It did so three days later. Getting some _chumars_ and _domes_
(two of the lowest castes, as none of the higher castes will touch a