TIGER SLAYER BY ORDER 



We tossed up for places, and Philips winning the toss, 

 chose the more likely post, a small teak tree standing at 

 the head of the ravine. After seeing him comfortably 

 installed, I took up my post, some fifty yards to his extreme 

 right on a side path leading to the covert, my idea being 

 to intercept the tiger should he attempt to leave the 

 ravine by this path, which, however, was not very likely, as 

 the ground, except for a few scanty thorn bushes here and 

 there was practically bare. 



The shouts of the beaters were soon challenged by a 

 loud roar from the tiger on my friend's left, and I was 

 gazing intently in his direction, momentarily expecting to 

 hear the report of his rifle, when I suddenly felt there was 

 some one behind me. Instantly looking round, I was 

 horrified to find myself face to face with a huge tiger, 

 with scarcely a yard between us. Fortunately the beast 

 was so intent on slinking away from the beaters that he 

 had evidently not seen me ; my clothes, sunburnt arms, 

 face and legs being all much the same colour as the ground. 

 To blaze into his face, drop my rifle and dive into the 

 thorn bushes, was all the work of an instant, and in this 

 precarious shelter I remained, perfectly still, and hardly 

 daring to breathe. Presently, to my intense relief and 

 joy, I heard one of the stops calling out that the tiger 

 was dead. 



It had been killed by the veriest accident, the bullet 

 merely grazing the top of the head, but providentially deep 



enough to fracture the skull. P , who now joined me, 



was full of congratulations at my wonderful escape, for 

 he had witnessed the whole incident from his tree. 



He now told me how the tiger had shown himself for 

 a moment on his left, and as suddenly dropped into the 

 nullah, and passing one of the stops who failed to stop 

 him, had gone creeping stealthily along in my direction 

 with his chin almost touching the ground, and his eyes 

 gazing straight in front of him. 



On skinning the tiger, which as I have said was an 

 exceptionally big one, we found the broken quill of a 

 porcupine deeply embedded in his jaws and paws. 



****** 



I think I have already stated somewhere that when a 

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