82 WILD HKASTS AND THKIIt WAYS CHAP. 



covert. The Ix-aters drew nearer, and a large doe sambur, instead 

 of rushing quickly forward, walked slowly into the open, and stood 

 within 10 yards of me upon the glade. She waited there for 

 8cver.il minutes, and then, as if some suspicion had suddenly 

 crossed her mind, gave two or three convulsive bounds and dashed 

 back to the same covert from which she had approached. 



It struck me that the sambur had got the wind of an enemy, 

 otherwise she would not have rushed back in such sudden haste; 

 she could not have scented me, as I was 10 or 12 feet above the 

 ground, and the breeze was aslant. . . . Then, if a tiger were in 

 the jungle, why should she dash back into the same covert 1 



I was reflecting iij>on these subjects, and looking out sharp 

 towards my left and front, when I gently turned upon my stool to 

 the right ; there was the tiger himself ! who had already broken 

 from the jungle about 75 yards from my position. He was slowly 

 jogging along as though just disturbed (possibly by the sambur), 

 keeping close to the narrow belt of bushes already described. 

 There was a footpath from the open glade which pierced the belt ; 

 I therefore waited until he should cross this favourable spot. I 

 h'red with the '577 rifle just as he was passing across the dusty 

 track. I saw the dust fly from the ground upon the other side as 

 the hardened bullet passed like lightning through his flank, but I 

 felt that I was a little too far behind his shoulder, as his response 

 to the shot was a bound at full gallop forwards into the small 

 clump of jungle that projected into the grassy open. My turnstool 

 was handy, and I quickly turned to the right, waiting with the 

 left-hand barrel ready for his reappearance upon the grass-land in 

 the interval between the main jungle and the narrow patch. 

 There was no time to lose, for the tiger appeared in a few seconds, 

 dashing out of the jungle, and flying over the open at tremendous 

 speed. This was about 110 yards distant; aiming about 18 

 inches in his front, I fired. A short but spasmodic roar and a 

 sudden convulsive twist of his body showed plainly that he was 

 well hit, but with unabated speed he gained the main forest, which 

 was not more than 40 yards distant. If that had been a soft 

 leaden bullet he would have rolled over to the shot, but I had seen 

 the dust start from the ground when I fired, and I knew that the 

 hard bullet had passed through without delivering the shock 

 required. 



The beaters and shikaris now arrived, and having explained the 

 incident, we examined the ground for tracks, and quickly found the 

 claw-marks, which were deeply indented in the parched surface of 

 fine sward. We followed these tracks cautiously into the jungle. 



