VARIOUS GAME 89 



open and paused to see why her spouse was 

 making such a row — as he certainly was, tearing 

 the ground up and biting anything in his way — I 

 clean forgot I had a second barrel, and might at 

 least have made sure of one if not two tigers, for 

 she exposed the whole of her left side in the most 

 tempting manner ; I never fired, and she bolted. 

 I could not fire at the wounded one, as the 

 moment he fell the undergrowth concealed him, so 

 I had to await further developments. Finally, he 

 recovered his feet and came floundering straight 

 for, and passed under, my tree. To be perched on 

 a machan and try to shoot right below is most 

 difficult, and my bullet just hit the ground behind 

 him, exploding with a loud clap. Why prolong 

 this harassing tale ! I saw no more of that tiger 

 from that day to this, although I followed up 

 the tracks next day, but the ground was burnt 

 as hard as a brick and the blood soon ceased. 

 Moral : Do not use a light Meade's shell on the 

 shoulder of a tiger. Undoubtedly the bullet 

 exploded on the surface ; of course, if I had got in 

 behind the shoulder, between his ribs, the shell 

 would have done its work. I returned to the 

 estate vowing I would never use other than my 

 own rifle in future. 



In December I left my brother, to join an 

 estate in the Mysore district, to learn planting 

 under other conditions ; after coffee, I was now 

 to see cardamom and pepper planting. 



I had been there barely four months when, on 

 the 25th of April, I got an urgent telegram telling 

 me my brother was dying, having been gored by 

 a bison, and I must come at once. 



