298 THE HIGHLANDS OF CENTEAL INDIA. 



and then I knew I was near the savage brute. We ran 

 it up to a dense jaman cover in the river-bed, and 

 I had barely time to get the people on foot safely 

 up trees when the tigress came at me in the most 

 determined manner. She looked just like a huge cat 

 that had been hunted by dogs — her fur all bedraggled 

 and standing on end, eyes glaring with fury, and 

 emitting the hoarse coughing roar of a charging tiger 

 that no one, to the very close of his tiger-shooting, hears 

 without a certain quickening of the blood. The first 

 two shots hit fair, but did not stop her ; and she 

 was not more than a few yards from the elejDhant's 

 trunk when the third ball caught her clean in the 

 mouth, knocking out one of her canine teeth and 

 passing down the throat into the chest. She could 

 do no more, but lay roaring and worrying her own 

 paws till I put an end to her with another shot in the 

 head. She was a lean, greyhound-made brute, scarcely 

 bigger than a panther. The Lalla was avenged ; but 

 the poor fellow was beyond any help that the sight of 

 his enemy might have afforded him ; and notwith- 

 standing every care — for he was the favourite of every- 

 body who knew him — he sank under the exhausting 

 drain of so many fearful wounds. 



Very different from the old Lalla is the usual pattern 

 of tiger shikari. He will probably be a tall swaggering 

 Mahomedan, brushing out his whiskers to the likeness 

 of a tiger's, and, to add ferocity of expression, dyeing 

 them when young a steely blue and when old a rusty 

 red ; clad in elaborate jungle-coloured raiment, and 

 hung with belts and pouches of sambar leather support- 

 ing a perfect armoury of cut-throat weapons which he 

 has not the faintest idea of using ; bragging sky high 

 of his own and his master's doughty exploits ; insuffer- 



