By Tamarind and Mkowa. 105 



sheltered. If the beast does break, he will pass within 

 about forty yards of us, goii\g away. 



Yes. This spot will do. 



Look at the wrist- watch. Five minutes to wait. See 

 that the " cut-off" of the little rifle is open, the magazine 

 full, and a cartridge still in the chamber. Gently lift 

 away that dry teak leaf. There is a brooding silence, 

 broke by the far away mewing of a peacock Po-haun / 

 ?&haun / Pe-haun / 



A deep sigh does not much relieve the feeling of tension, 

 which is becoming distressing ! 



Suddenly through the still woods resounds a distant 

 Tok ! Tok 1 Tok ! Those were blows with the back of an 

 axe on a dead tree. Faintly sound the voices of the men. 

 There goes the axe again I And another Tok ! Tok ! 

 They are getting slowly closer ; but as yet there is not the 

 ghost of a sign from the ndla. We should not wonder if, 

 after all, it contained nothing but the carcase of our poor 

 hela. 



There comes one of the crows; another behind him. 

 They fly up and alight nearer us. " Caw caw! Ke-aw ! " 



The rifle is at the ready ; thumb on the safety-bolt ready 

 to press it back, Still nothing appears. 



The men must be quite close now. By Jove ! There's a 

 figure hastily climbing a tree ! 



A small bird comes fluttering out of a bush rather to our 

 right, and attracts sudden attention. No. It is nothing. 

 Our eyes return to the edge of the 



In some extraordinary way there is a tiger standing 

 there, close in front of us broadside on \ 



" Chick ! " goes the safety-bolt. 



It is a tiger ! But for the life of us we cannot tell how 

 big, how marked, or any other particulars. Our eyes are 



