64 Leaves from an Indian Jungle. 



A stick cracked in quite another direction on the other 

 side of the grisly " kill." Very slowly I turned myself in 

 that direction, and strained my eyes on to the faintly 

 yellow strip of bran with that mis-shapen dark blotch in 

 the centre of it. 



All movement appeared to have ceased. Probably the 

 panther was sitting, waiting, watching, and would presently 

 creep forward to seek his abominable food. 



In this state we sat on for an apparently immense period 

 of time. I noted that the Pleiades, instead of hanging 

 over the dark crest of the Chor Pahar, were now high 

 above my head. A large green-coloured star had just 

 risen over the trees in the distance. I slipped a supporting 

 hand under my doubled-up and aching knee, gently altered 

 its position, and sat on patiently. 



Was the corpse down there moving ? No ! Yes, it was, 

 though. How beastly ! As I intently watched it, it 

 seemed to roll over ! I could, in my fancy, see its dull 

 white eyes gleaming in the starlight, the head raised 

 despairingly to watch, helplessly, the approach of its 

 destroyer. 



I began to -think of Forsyth's story of " Padam 

 Singh and the man-eater ; " of the half-eaten corpse 

 that raised its dead hands to point out the shikari 

 shivering in his tree ; and how those hands had to be 

 pegged to 'the ground before the tiger would return to the 



kill 



A small sound, as of tiny teeth, made itself audible in 

 the stillness of night ; a little champing of minute jaws, and 

 then a little squeak, and the eating ceased. 



Some mongoose, or jungle-cat, was at the corpse I With 

 a shudder of disgust I turned slowly back to my original 

 position. 



