A TIGER-DRIVE. 217 



thickets with their spear -heads, and rapped their 

 spear- butts upon the tree-trunks with a steadiness 

 and thoroughness that would have been creditable in 

 any pheasant covert in England. They were, I may 

 say, an exceptionally fine set of men. The Malays of 

 Saiong are famous throughout Perak for their skill 

 and daring in a tiger -drive; and on this occasion 

 they were under the eye both of their Sultan's son 

 and of the District Officer. 



Before long the cry arose again, " Here he is ! Here 

 he is ! " Upon this the old chief in charge of the 

 drive shouted an order, "Tahan, tahan !" (Steady, hold 

 steady !) Down on a knee dropped every man of the 

 two hundred that composed the line. Close to his side 

 each man gripped his spear, with its point thrust up- 

 wards into the dark forest undergrowth in front of 

 him. It was impossible to see the plainest object at 

 a distance of more than twenty yards, and a tiger 

 might crouch unseen within three yards of the most 

 vigilant. Little doubt that each man eyed the cross- 

 bar on his spear, and thought how very small and 

 very near him it looked ; amid the safety of the crowd 

 in the village he had tied it on with a pleasurable 

 titillation of excitement. But now its significance 

 was very real and very grim. 



The chief shouted his order to the men to stand 

 steady, because he thought that, as the tiger had not 

 by this time passed the guns, it must be aware of 

 their position, and intend to seek safety by breaking 

 back through the line of beaters. Every one knew 

 what the chief thought, and waited, peering into the 

 dark forest in front of him, in readiness for the next 



