UNBEARABLE HEAT 97 



Tigers frequent the pool, and on the 8th Best 

 and I had a very quiet stalk in the hope of coming 

 upon one. 



We got to the pool just in time to get a glimpse 

 of a tiger who had been having a swim, but not in 

 time to get a shot at him. 



On the loth we received news of a " kill " and 

 tried to stalk two tigers who had lain up near it, 

 but they got our wind and slunk off. 



This stalking on foot in intense heat with only 

 almost undrinkable water available I found very 

 exhausting. 



During our stalks we had but one companion, 

 a really first-class shikari who was also an excellent 

 tracker. 



On the nth we were again defeated by a wary 

 tiger, but the i2th proved our lucky day. 



We got on the track of a tiger about 10 in the 

 morning and followed it along a dry nullah 

 that is, a dry watercourse. The nullah was deep 

 and narrow between high banks of red-hot rocks, 

 the refracted heat from which almost stifled us. 

 I had taken the precaution to wrap cotton-wool 

 all over the steel frame of my glasses, but even so 

 they worried me a good deal, as the glass itself 

 was so hot as to affect my eyesight. I could not 

 handle my rifle without gloves. 



Occasionally the river-bed was obstructed by 

 large boulders of rock, and as we did our utmost 

 to creep along as noiselessly as possible, we ran 

 considerable risk of coming suddenly and without 

 the least warning on the tiger that we knew was 

 in front of us. 



After two hours of heavy walking in scorching 



