TIGERLAND 



to shoot with ease. This stump was only some fifteen feet 

 from the carcass of the cow, yet so dense was the jungle 

 between that I could not see it till I had a lane cut through 

 the tangle of creepers, grass, and bush which intervened. 

 Having completed these arrangements, I would fain have 

 commenced my vigil at once ; but wiser counsels prevailed, 

 and, finally convinced that the tiger was not likely to 

 revisit its " kill " till evening approached, I returned 

 reluctantly to my hut. 



The morning dragged wearily on ; midday came, and 

 passed as slowly by. At length the afternoon arrived, and 

 about three o'clock, accompanied by two men carrying my 

 rifle, a blanket, and the all-important stool, we set out for 

 the stump. By four o'clock my companions, having seen 

 me comfortably ensconced within my shell, had retired to 

 join the crowd assembled in the open some quarter of a 

 mile away, and I was now the sole human occupant of that 

 vast and gloomy forest, where all around was still and 

 silent as the grave. Afraid to stand upright, lest the tiger 

 should sight me as he came and turn away, I crouched low 

 down, trusting to my ears alone to warn me of his approach, 

 for surely, thought I, in a deathlike silence such as this a 

 rat could scarcely move without being heard. 



An hour or so passed, and darkness was coming on 

 apace, yet I had not, so far, heard any sound save the 

 gentle rustling of the leaves to the light breathing of the 

 wind, which occasionally arose and quickly died away 

 again. Anxious to know the time, I looked at my watch, 

 and had, with some difficulty, just made out that it was 

 nearly seven, when, suddenly, I heard a sound like the loud 

 grinding crunch of cracking bones, a few feet away from 

 me. Taken completely unawares, I nearly dropped both 

 watch and rifle in my amazement, but recovering myself 

 with an effort, I held my breath, and, slowly raising my 

 head, peered through the lane that had been cut. For a 

 few seconds, during which I could feel my heart thumping 

 against my ribs, I could see nothing. At length, my eyes 

 becoming accustomed to the gloom, I was able to dis- 

 tinguish a large shadowy form, with head lowered over the 

 carcass of the cow, and then a long tail waving slowly to 

 and fro, its tip some eight feet or nine feet from me only. 

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