Tales of Daring and Danger

merry party were sitting in the verandah of one of the largest and handsomestbungalows of Poonah. It belonged to Colonel Hastings, colonel of a native regimentstationed there, and at present, in virtue of seniority, commanding a brigade. Tiffin wason, and three or four officers and four ladies had taken their seats in the comfortablecane lounging chairs which form the invariable furniture of the verandah of a wellorderedbungalow. Permission had been duly asked, and granted by Mrs....
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merry party were sitting in the verandah of one of the largest and handsomestbungalows of Poonah. It belonged to Colonel Hastings, colonel of a native regimentstationed there, and at present, in virtue of seniority, commanding a brigade. Tiffin wason, and three or four officers and four ladies had taken their seats in the comfortablecane lounging chairs which form the invariable furniture of the verandah of a wellorderedbungalow. Permission had been duly asked, and granted by Mrs. Hastings, andthe cheroots had just begun to draw, when Miss Hastings, a niece of the colonel, whohad only arrived the previous week from England, said,--"Uncle, I am quite disappointed. Mrs. Lyons showed me the bear she has got tied up intheir compound, and it is the most wretched little thing, not bigger than Rover, papa'sretriever, and it's full-grown. I thought bears were great fierce creatures, and this poorlittle thing seemed so restless and unhappy that I thought it quite a shame not to let itgo."Colonel Hastings smiled rather grimly."And yet, small and insignificant as that bear is, my dear, it is a question whether he isnot as dangerous an animal to meddle with as a man-eating tiger.""What, that wretched little bear, Uncle?""Yes, that wretched little bear. Any experienced sportsman will tell you that huntingthose little bears is as dangerous a sport as tiger-hunting on foot, to say nothing of tigerhuntingfrom an elephant's back, in which there is scarcely any danger whatever. I canspeak feelingly about it, for my career was pretty nearly brought to an end by a bear,just after I entered the army, some thirty years ago, at a spot within a few miles fromhere. I have got the scars on my shoulder and arm still."