Its eyes， which were wide open， were of a greenish-brown， and never twinkled； its hair also was brown，[FN#43] and brown was its face——three several shades which， notwithstanding， approached one another in an unpleasant way， as in an over-dried cocoa-nut. Its body was thin and ribbed like a skeleton or a bamboo framework， and as it held on to a bough， like a flying fox，[FN#44] by the toe-tips， its drawn muscles stood out as if they were ropes of coin. Blood it appeared to have none， or there would have been a decided determination of that curious juice to the head； and as the Raja handled its skin it felt icy cold and clammy as might a snake. The only sign of life was the whisking of a ragged little tail much resembling a goat's.
[FN#43] Hindus admire only glossy black hair； the "bonny brown hair" loved by our ballads is assigned by them to low-caste men， witches， and fiends.
[FN#44] A large kind of bat； a popular and silly Anglo-Indian name. It almost justified the irate Scotchman in calling "prodigious leears" those who told him in India that foxes flew and tress were tapped for toddy.
Judging from these signs the brave king at once determined the creature to be a Baital——a Vampire. For a short time he was puzzled to reconcile the appearance with the words of the giant， who informed him that the anchorite had hung the oilman's son to a tree. But soon he explained to himself the difficulty， remembering the exceeding cunning of jogis and other reverend men， and determining that his enemy， the better to deceive him， had doubtless altered the shape and form of the young oilman's body.
With this idea， Vikram was pleased， saying， "My trouble has been productive of fruit." Remained the task of carrying the Vampire to Shanta-Shil the devotee. Having taken his sword， the Raja fearlessly climbed the tree， and ordering his son to stand away from below， clutched the Vampire's hair with one hand， and with the other struck such a blow of the sword， that the bough was cut and the thing fell heavily upon the ground. Immediately on falling it gnashed its teeth and began to utter a loud wailing cry like the screams of an infant in pain. Vikram having heard the sound of its lamentations， was pleased， and began to say to himself， "This devil must be alive." Then nimbly sliding down the trunk， he made a captive of the body， and asked " Who art thou？"
Scarcely， however， had the words passed the royal lips， when the Vampire slipped through the fingers like a worm， and uttering a loud shout of laughter， rose in the air with its legs uppermost， and as before suspended itself by its toes to another bough. And there it swung to and fro， moved by the violence of its cachinnation.
"Decidedly this is the young oilman！" exclaimed the Raja， after he had stood for a minute or two with mouth open， gazing upwards and wondering what he should do next. Presently he directed Dharma Dhwaj not to lose an instant in laying hands upon the thing when it next might touch the ground， and then he again swarmed up the tree. Having reached his former position， he once more seized the Baital's hair， and with all the force of his arms——for he was beginning to feel really angry——he tore it from its hold and dashed it to the ground， saying， "O wretch， tell me who thou art？"
Then， as before， the Raja slid deftly down the trunk， and hurried to the aid of his son， who in obedience to orders， had fixed his grasp upon the Vampire's neck. Then， too， as before， the Vampire， laughing aloud， slipped through their fingers and returned to its dangling-place.
To fail twice was too much for Raja Vikram's temper， which was right kingly and somewhat hot. This time he bade his son strike the Baital's head with his sword. Then， more like a wounded bear of Himalaya than a prince who had established an era， he hurried up the tree， and directed a furious blow with his sabre at the Vampire's lean and calfless legs. The violence of the stroke made its toes loose their hold of the bough， and when it touched the ground， Dharma Dhwaj's blade fell heavily upon its matted brown hair. But the blows appeared to have lighted on iron-wood——to judge at least from the behaviour of the Baital， who no sooner heard the question， "O wretch， who art thou？" than it returned in loud glee and merriment to its old position.
Five mortal times did Raja Vikram repeat this profitless labour. But so far from losing heart， he quite entered into the spirit of the adventure. Indeed he would have continued climbing up that tree and taking that corpse under his arm——he found his sword useless——and bringing it down， and asking it who it was， and seeing it slip through his fingers， six times sixty times， or till the end of the fourth and present age，[FN#45] had such extreme resolution been required.
[FN#45] The Hindus， like the European classics and other ancient peoples， reckon four ages：——The Satya Yug， or Golden Age， numbered 1，728，000 years： the second， or Treta Yug， comprised 1，296，000； the Dwapar Yug had 864，000 and the present， the Kali Yug， has shrunk to 832，000 years.
However， it was not necessary. On the seventh time of falling， the Baital， instead of eluding its capturer's grasp， allowed itself to be seized， merely remarking that "even the gods cannot resist a thoroughly obstinate man."[FN#46] And seeing that the stranger， for the better protection of his prize， had stripped off his waistcloth and was making it into a bag， the Vampire thought proper to seek the most favourable conditions for himself， and asked his conqueror who he was， and what he was about to do？
