THREE LEOPARDS BEFORE EARLY BREAKFAST 



ever made had dropped the leopard dead, and the second 

 and third animals both of which I had taken to be the 

 first had each been killed in the manner I have described ; 

 the only surprising part of the business, therefore, was 

 that there should have been three leopards in a patch of 

 grass barely large enough to harbour one. 



A few days after this strange adventure, my solitary 

 wanderings were ended for a time by a sudden meeting 

 with the District Magistrate, whose camp I came upon 

 unexpectedly one morning. I had sent on my tents the 

 night before to a village some twenty miles ahead, and on 

 arriving there myself, found them pitched near several 

 others belonging as I discovered to the magistrate, 

 who, accompanied by the Executive Engineer, had arrived 

 there the day before. 



I had met both these men during the six weeks I had 

 been in the station after joining, and had been much 

 interested in the latter as being by reputation the finest 

 big-game sportsman in the Province. He was, moreover, 

 noted as having been the victor in one of the most terrible 

 hand-to-hand encounters with a tiger that ever man 

 survived. I had heard of the incident at the time and had 

 long wished to know the details, but it was not a subject 

 he cared to talk about as was only natural, having lost 

 an arm in the struggle. However, one night while we 

 were sitting round the camp fire after dinner, discussing 

 the pleasures and perils of tiger shooting, he told us this 

 strange story of his adventure. 



" I was once out tiger-shooting on foot, with my friend 

 the doctor of the station. Towards the close of the day 

 we came upon, and, as we thought at the time, mortally 

 wounded a tiger, and mounting the only elephant we 

 had, were following him up. Being the beginning of 

 the cold weather, the jungles were so extremely dense 

 that it was difficult to see more than a yard or two 

 ahead. 



" We had entered a specially heavy bit of tree and under- 

 growth, through which the elephant could hardly make his 

 way ; however, by breaking down the branches of the 

 larger trees, and uprooting those of smaller growth, we 

 managed to advance, though very slowly. We had 



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