ON WATCH FOR HIM. 57 



about dusk, hoping that the tiger might put in an appear- 

 ance before it grew too dark to be able to see him, as un- 

 fortunately there was no moon. We waited there until I 

 could no longer see either my rifle-barrels or the dead cow 

 in the pitchy gloom of the ravine ; but not a sound broke 

 the deep stillness except the intermittent " chunk, chunk " 

 of the night-jar, so we quietly left our ambush. Shortly 

 after returning to the village we heard at intervals the 

 deep-throated " aowoongh " of the tiger on his way down 

 from a neighbouring forest-clad hill to his supper. How 

 wild and eerie it sounded in the silence of night ! This 

 was another new experience, for I had always thought that 

 a tiger stole warily towards its prey. But in this case, 

 the prey being dead, it perhaps thought such precaution 

 unnecessary. 



As it would have been as rash as it was useless to 

 attempt to go after a hungry tiger in the dark, we waited 

 until morning dawned, when we cautiously approached the 

 carcass in hopes of finding the animal still at work on it. 

 To our great surprise we found it had not been touched, 

 though we discovered the brute's tracks close to it. We 

 followed them for some distance, until we came upon an- 

 other dead cow partially eaten, which the tiger had very 

 recently left, as was evident from the freshness of his big 

 pug-marks round about it. This was annoying, as Jeetoo 

 had unfortunately overlooked this carcass, which lay con- 

 cealed among the dense brushwood when he had removed 

 the others. 



As the shades of evening began to gather around, we 

 fastened the two dead cattle together and once more took 

 up our post. Whilst we silently watched there in the 

 gloaming, the hollow moaning voice of the tiger was now 

 and again heard on the hill above. Gradually the sullen 

 sound drew nearer and nearer as the brute came prowling 

 down, until it seemed to be quite close to us, when it 

 ceased and was heard no more. It had now grown so 



