A FATAL MISTAKE 107 



to the top of a smaller tree, too high in my opinion 

 either to see or to shoot satisfactorily; but that 

 was his concern. The tree was well on our proper 

 left. I myself selected a tree (in the centre) 

 growing by a cheetal path which I thought the tiger 

 might take to. I then went back to the thirty- 

 four beaters and had them lined from the shore 

 end of the maidan to as far as I could induce 

 them to go towards the dense jungle flanking the 

 khal. To each man I gave eight bombs and a 

 box of matches. 



As soon as I got back to my tree and I must 

 confess that this crossing and recrossing the long 

 grass in the vicinity of the tiger was trying I 

 put the bamboo ladder against it and sent the one 

 man I had taken with me back to the line to start 

 the beaters. I found that the tree did not admit 

 of my sitting higher than on the fourth rung of the 

 ladder, the spreading branches obstructing my 

 view if I sat higher. Four feet from the ground 

 is a leetle low when a tiger is being beaten to- 

 wards one, but I had to come low, as the bamboo 

 ladder creaked so loudly that it would have turned 

 any animal coming in its direction. I stood on 

 the ground beside it counting on having time to 

 climb the ladder if I wounded the tiger. I could 

 not well miss him in the path. The sun was very 

 hot and we were at work in the hottest part of the 

 day. I was tired out and to this I attribute my 

 one mistake. I made but one, I think, but it 

 cost us the tiger, although I am not quite satisfied 

 that the tiger could not have been shot in spite of 

 it. I forgot to put a couple of men in trees on the 

 khal side of the jungle to tap and so keep the tiger 



