2QO RIFLE AND ROMANCE 



while behind him crept intently another lithe, but smaller 

 striped form. 



Blinking dazed eyes, I glanced hopelessly up at the dark 

 sky. The clouds, torn apart by their late discharges, were 

 trailing quickly away. Between their scudding masses 

 appeared for a moment a tiny break ; and suddenly the 

 rim of the moon appeared swimming through the curtain 

 of grey mist that shrouded the edge of this rapidly closing 

 aperture. 



Starting hurriedly to my feet, I leant over the rail of 

 the machdn, rifle to shoulder. Next moment a patch of 

 wan moonlight slid over the glade, momentarily throwing 

 up a great distinct form standing now directly underneath 

 me. Instantly there was a flash bang ! one deep and 

 stricken grunt, and something galloped heavily away, 

 crashing blindly at random through the thorny underwood. 



Hardly had the shot been fired ere that gleam of moon 

 was gone, but not so quickly as to prevent a glimpse of 

 another long, low shape that darted swiftly in under my 

 platform, with a coughing grunt of furious rage, and in a 

 moment there followed the savage sound of a tiger worry- 

 ing an adversary, mingled with thin shrieks, curses, and 

 the whack of feeble blows ! 



Aghast for a moment at these extraordinary developments, 

 I pulled myself together and discharged the left barrel of 

 my rifle into the air, reloaded hurriedly, and fired similarly 

 twice again, raising a loud, deterrent shout meanwhile. 

 Next instant there came a wrenching and a crackling as 

 of parchment, and the creature bounded lightly off and 

 away, followed by tottering footsteps through the dried 

 leaves and a despairing scream of " Hut ! Hut ! Choro ! 

 choro !" ("Drop it! drop it!") that retreated down the 

 glade "Choro! ckdro !" until cut suddenly off by the 

 hiss of the dust-storm that now came swooping down with 

 such a torrent of tropical rain as put an immediate stop to 

 my hurried preparations for pursuit and succour. Snatch- 



