THK iihiiiKi; NAi:r>Ai».\. 3r>3 



'rih> l>nitc li;ul soi.-.cd liiin hy (lu> week, which was 

 dialocalcil ; thi> jiiouhir was also diviih'tl, aiul he had 

 ovid(Mi(ly hccn ilriiikini;- I he l>K>t>(l whiMi m\' shots, or 

 porhaps (he Ii;!;ht, scarcil him oil'. 'VUo iii^hl. was loo 

 dark for any at(iMuj)( (o kill the |>aiither, who, moro- 

 ovi'r, hail [uohahly hceii scai\'il coinplclcU awaN' I'voni 

 tho lUMghhourhooil o( tho eamp. It was, howesfr, very 

 probable that he would return next, eveniii;;- in tpiest of 

 the pony bel'ore it was too dark to shoot, and I was 

 persuaded 1)\' the old shik.iia to sit up o\i a " inaehan 

 and wateh l't>r him. A small n.d;i ran from the river 

 nearly up io the eanip, as is alwa)s the ease when a 

 niisailventur(> like this occurs. This 1 hail ov(>rlooked 

 wluMj select ini; a site for my tent. We drai;t;ed the 

 carcase, without toui'hiui;- it ourselves, to tin' head oi' 

 tliis nala, where there was a convenient tree. The 

 slukarf — an old hand at this sort of work — strewed the 

 grounil for some paei>s round the pony with iVt-sh white 

 wlieat-chatr, which he saiil would not prevent the 

 l)antlier coniintJj to (\M>d. while it certainly riMidered (he 

 chance i>t' hitting; in tlu' dark much o'reatcr ; aiul about 

 SUnact he and I took our places on the machan. There 

 was small chance ol the panther niakini^' his appearance 

 so early in tlu' eveninp^, so 1 commenced a whisjiered 

 conversation with the old man abi>nt machan shoot inf 

 iu general, which he e\identl\' considert'd the linest 

 ajiort in tlu> worhl, as well as the aalest. lie was lull 

 of stories t)!' curiiuis events that had occurred io himself 

 and others ; and (old me many as we sat (hrouj^h the 

 long hours toi;'etluM-, of which 1 only rememberi'd one 

 next morning sutUciently well to note it down in my 

 journal. Sonudunv we got on the subject of man-eating 

 tigers, ami I hapjiened to ask him if he had ever wateluHl 

 for a. man-i"ater o\er the botl\' of a man lii> had killed. 



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