XII MARRIED AND A RUN OF LUCK 135 



In September of the same year I was out one 

 Sunday after sambhur, having with me three 

 Sholaga trackers. I had gone on ahead with one, 

 to await the other two, whom I had told to walk 

 quietly through a piece of jungle towards me. 

 While waiting I was attracted by a pecuUar 

 moaning in the distance, and on putting up my 

 field - glasses my vision was greeted with the 

 strange sight of some bison circling about with 

 lowered horns. Suspecting the reason I studied 

 the place carefully, and soon espied a very large 

 tiger lying prone on a rock, switching his tail. 

 I suppose he funked tackling them, as after a bit 

 he jumped off the rock and commenced walking 

 down through some long grass, with tail very 

 erect like an angry dog ; in fact I could distinctly 

 see the bushy end of his tail bobbing along when 

 the animal itself was merged in the grass. I 

 immediately sent the tracker back to fetch the 

 other two Sholagas, and as they arrived the tiger 

 entered an isolated patch of jungle, while the 

 bison disappeared over a ridge. 



There was a wide expanse of open grass land 

 around the patch of forest the tiger had entered, 

 the main jungle being below me. I felt sure if 

 disturbed the tiger would naturally seek the cover 

 of the latter. In the open on the grass hill-side, 

 between where the tiger was lying and in the 

 direction where I hoped he would bolt, was a 

 large rock commanding a view all round. 



Prior to taking up my position on this rock I 

 ordered the trackers to beat up from below, 

 through the piece of jungle where the tiger was 

 now lying up. They carried out my instructions, 



