52 INDIAN BIG GAME 



and fired as she moved. There was no apparent 

 result, and she went off at speed over the brow 

 of the plateau on my right and I missed her with 

 the left barrel. 



In another five minutes the big tiger himself 

 walked past the machan at some thirty yards' 

 distance, giving me time to watch him. I have 

 seen no finer sight than the stately, bored swing 

 of this great beast as he moved, with head bent 

 down, ears back and tail drooping. My eye 

 caught the rippling muscles of his shoulder like 

 an instantaneous photograph. I killed him in 

 three shots, and he died very savagely, splintering 

 one of his big teeth on a stone. 



I suppose my left arm was not yet taking its 

 full share of the recoil of the -470, for the second 

 shot broke my nose. I hurriedly put it straight 

 again, but the third shot broke it for life, for I had 

 no means of keeping it straight. 



Iseri Singh, the immaculate, came up. " That's 

 a nice tigress you've killed. Sahib," said he. 



She had galloped over the brow and fallen 

 dead with a bullet through her last rib. 



The world went very well then. 



The big tiger measured 10' 1" over curves, 

 9' 4" between pegs, girth 54", forearm, 18j". 

 The tigress was 8' 2", and looked tiny beside him. 



We skinned most of the night and were glad to 

 rest the next day, but I had to sit up the following 

 night over a kill on our side. Nothing came 

 except my little dog Bhaloo, who had tracked me. 

 I could not curse him for such fidelity, but I 

 did not want him to stop. The situation was 

 difficult. 



