BACK IN THE JUNGLES AGAIN 



187 



warn him of danger. The suspense was painful. I was just 

 giving up hope when a greyish shape appeared below me 

 without a sound. It was the 

 tiger. He loomed enormous 

 though indistinct in the 

 struggling light, stepping as 

 lightly as a tomcat walking 

 over a lawn, his tail swinging 

 from side to side. The night 

 was absolutely still, not a 

 breath of air was moving 

 and he evidently had no 

 idea of our dangerous neigh- 

 bourhood, for he was looking 

 straight ahead. In spite of 

 the light I felt quite con- 

 fident of the shot, too con- 

 fident perhaps as it appeared 

 such an easy one. I had 

 brought up the rifle very 

 near the position of firing 

 before the animal appeared 

 to avoid attracting his 

 attention by a movement, 

 the frequent cause of so 



many missed opportunities : for the eye of the jungle 

 inhabitant is extraordinarily quick at catching any un- 

 toward movement to which he is not accustomed. I 

 had only to raise the rifle a few inches to sight on 

 the animal and as soon as I was on I pulled the 

 trigger. The report was followed by a loud roar and the 

 tiger, who was dead in front of me, reared up on end and 

 nearly fell over backwards. He righted himself, however, 

 and came down on all fours, falling over on his side as he 

 did so. I refrained from firing again thinking he was 

 finished. To my astonishment, however, the beast was up 

 again in a trice, whisked round, and bounded away. I 

 hurriedly aimed on his grey shape and fired again, the report 

 being followed by a loud growl. A swish of grass and a 

 crash of bushes followed as the tiger entered the forest 

 again on the side from which he had emerged and then 

 silence. " The sahib should have fired his second barrel 

 sooner while the tiger was on the ground," came from 



