DILAPIDATED CONDITION OF THE SPORTSMEN 



tuskers were the only members of the attacking force 

 present the rest nowhere to be seen. I shouted out the 

 news of the tiger's death, and soon, crashing through the 

 jungle from different directions, came the runaways, all bear- 

 ing unmistakable evidence of what had occurred. C 



was minus his hat, his jacket torn to ribands, his howdah 

 at an angle of 45 degrees, and his face bleeding from 

 scratches. B - was in an equally dilapidated condition, 

 the crown of his pith hat gone, and his howdah front 

 stove in. The tusker's mahout had fared somewhat better, 

 coming off with the loss of his turban only. Each had a 

 different story to tell, but the salient points being similar, 

 they may be related in a few words. It appeared that as 

 soon as the tiger made his spring, the two howdah elephants 

 and the nearest tusker, panic-stricken at his sudden and 

 furious attack, turned tail and fairly bolted, tearing 

 through the forest utterly regardless of branches, thorns, 

 or creepers, and nearly sweeping the howdahs off in their 

 anxiety to get as far away as possible from the angry, 

 snarling brute. They were eventually pulled up by the 

 jungle becoming too dense to allow of further progress, 

 and though every effort was made to bring them back to 

 my assistance, they refused to move so long as the tiger's 

 growl was still audible. 



Thus ended a glorious day of pleasure and perils 

 combined, the last, though apparently forgotten, yet 

 unconsciously recalled to mind when enjoying the recol- 

 lections of the first. 



229 



