Description

Introduction The man sits with his back to a tree and the light from the campfire waxes and wanes, throwing him into sharp relief along with the tree-trunk against which he rests, to fade the next instant into obscurity and gloom. Leaning against the tree beside him is a .405 Winchester rifle of ancient vintage. Someone throws a fresh log on the flames and myriad sparks soar upwards, lighting the heavy boughs of the great tree that overshadows the camp. For an instant the man's countenance, too, is lit brightly and we see that he has a beard and moustache, and that firmly held in the corner of the mouth is an old briar that has long gone out. A battered ' Gurkha' hat, its brim curled up at the left side, slopes rakishly to the right upon his head. Action & Adventure (Books) The man is speaking. He appears to be telling a tale and it is clear that he is so intent upon it, so absorbed, that he has forgotten his pipe and all else around him. The flames die down, and then flare up again, their momentary gleam revealing the absent look in the man's eyes, as he lives again the incidents he describes. The past has become so real that he is oblivious of his audience, squatting around him