126 INDIAN BIG GAME chap. 



smoke, listening the while, with the pleasure that 

 enters the breast of all sportsmen, to the flattering 

 remarks of Kurrama and Kerta as to the size of 

 the tiger and the accuracy of their master's rifle. 

 After an hour's patient wait, we braced our- 

 selves for a further investigation by taking the 

 road in its whole circle, and quite soon came 

 on the pug tracks of a large tiger. There 

 were no signs of blood, and as the marks 

 were those of a leisurely walk, my men argued 

 that they were the night tracks ; but I had my 

 doubts, and after - results proved I was correct. 

 Anyway we continued our walk and found further 

 evidence of his roamings. At a place where 

 he had lain on the road looking down towards 

 the kill, the mark of his tail was plainly visible. 

 That these were night tracks was beyond dispute. 

 We eventually reached the path that I had come 

 down by in the early morning, which was on the 

 other side of the circle. Here I found a Sholaga 

 boy, Bola, with my breakfast, and Kerta's brother, 

 Madha, who, hearing the shot, had come to learn 

 the news, so they joined forces after depositing 

 the tiffin basket in a shady nook. The real work 

 of the day now began, and the tiger had had a 

 good couple of hours to stiffen. The tracks soon 

 showed that he had crossed the road, and led 

 into long, dry lemon grass, the blades of which 

 were smeared with blood ; ahead was a piece of 

 jungle to which he had evidently made. The 

 tracking was not easy owing to his slow pace, 

 and the blood was scanty, caused, so the Sholagas 

 said, by his having eaten to repletion so that the 

 wound had become stopped up. 



