THE NATIVES' DISGUST 



not in the least degree interested in photographs, 

 whilst they had an hereditary hatred of the tiger. I 

 shall never forget the disgust with which they regarded 

 the camera. They had expected it to rain leaden 

 bullets into the enemy, and lo ! it appeared to have 

 done nothing. Yet I had closed it up again, and was 

 obviously satisfied with the result of my foolishness. 

 Their opinion of me had gone down to zero. I had 

 risked my life out of mere childish curiosity, they 

 decided. 



That tiger had got to be killed, and as my machine 

 was no good, they were going to do the job with their 

 spears. The prospect did not appeal to me. I wanted 

 to be out of it. In other parts of the world I had seen 

 a good deal of spearing work, and I knew something 

 of the dangers ; but it had all been child's play to what 

 this might turn out to be. A lion in open country is 

 bad enough, but this tiger was far bigger, stronger 

 and fiercer than any lion. We reckoned he must be 

 at least eleven feet long, and neither the game-ranger 

 nor myself remembered ever having seen such a 

 terrible-looldng brute before. But it was useless to 

 protest. They had made up their minds. 



The beaters went round to the back of the tiger's 

 lair to drive him towards the fifteen spearmen who 

 had volunteered to face him. But when he came in 

 sight, horrible, bursting with wrath, there were only 

 three spearmen left. The others had changed their 



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