CHAPTER LXIII. 



WHITE-HEADED ICHEUMON. 



BUILDING BETTER THAN HE KNEW. 



THE crisis seemed to 

 be at hand. Both Mr. 

 Godkin and Dick raised 

 their rifles and leveled 

 them at the terrible tiger, 

 which stood only a few 

 paces off, apparently on 

 the point of making a 

 bound directly at the 

 little bamboo structure, 

 which, as the man had 

 asserted, could have of- 

 fered no more resistance 

 to his fury than so much 

 card-board. Before leaping, the beast, like all of his kind, would squat on his 

 legs, so as to gather his muscles for the terrific effort that would bring him upon 

 the defenders. 



This premonitory movement was all they were waiting for. The instant the 

 long, graceful body should sink toward the ground, the two would fire, trusting that 

 Heaven would direct one of the bullets, at least, through the center of life and stay 

 the beast, on the threshold, as may be said, of his assault. 



But the tiger did not lower his body. Like many a great enterprise, this one 

 was checked by an insignificant cause. His sharp eyes caught sight of the mangled 

 cobra doubled up on the ground in front of him. He knew its nature, but did not 

 know it was dead. That strange intuition which we call instinct warned him of 

 the fatal result of a darting blow from that fearful reptile, and he drew back with a 

 suddenness which, under other circumstances, would have been ludicrous. Not 

 only that, but he turned directly about and trotted back to the jungle, where he 

 disappeared. 



"Well, if that doesn't beat anything I ever saw 1 " exclaimed Dick. 

 " You know what frightened him off ? " 

 " A dead snake." 



" Yes ; when you shot the reptile, you builded better than you knew." 

 " I builded well enough to save my life." 



" Truly ; not once, but twice ; but for it, the tiger assuredly would have at- 

 tacked us, and I need not tell you how slight our chance of escape would'have 



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