rds we heard the crackling of
dead twigs as if someone was passing over them.

"The feet of the one who is approaching us are uncovered," volunteered
our guide, whose keen sense of hearing was vastly superior to our own,
and its accuracy was again proved fully, for, pushing aside the
undergrowth which hindered his path, there stepped out upon the level
track before us a singularly well-formed being, whose whole appearance
was that of a man in his primitive, savage state. He was fully six feet
in height, and wonderfully erect, his nut-brown skin forming a warm
setting for the rich, dark eyes which so distinguish Eastern races. His
black hair clustered thickly above his forehead, on which we observed a
circular spot, crimson in colour, and much resembling the _pottu_ which
Shiva women daily paint above their brows as a religious emblem. As
Hassan had already said, the man's feet were bare of covering, while the
single garment which he wore was a brightly spotted panther skin, which
passed over the left shoulder to the right side, and then hung down
carelessly to the knees. In one hand he carried a stout bow, and the
band which crossed his body over the right shoulder supported a quiver
which hung gracefully behind. A savage, and in such a rude garb, the man
seemed almost grand in his very simplicity.

[Illustration: "A DHAH!"]

"A Dhah!" exclaimed Hassan, quietly. "We have, indeed, met with good
fortune." Again we heard the brushwood crackle, and a second man,
resembling the first in appearance and dress, came forward, and together
they held a conversation, interspersed largely with the gestures which
play so prominent a part in the language of barbaric tribes.

"What can they be searching for?" Denviers asked Hassan, as the men
seemed to be closely examining the trunks of several of the palm trees.

"I cannot tell, sahib," responded the Arab. Then he continued with a
warning movement:--

"Hist! there are others coming, and they are bearing loads with them."
Through the brushwood we next saw several Dhahs advance, each carrying
upon his head a huge bundle of some twining plant belonging to a species
which we had not observed hitherto during our wanderings in Ceylon. From
its appearance we likened it to a giant convolvulus, for, while the
pliant stem was as thick as a man's arm, there hung from it huge leaves
and petals resembling that flower in shape. We moved cautiously into the
undergrowth behind, thus getting a l