44 SHIKAR SKETCHES. 



twenty minutes when the tiger came out of the 

 jungle, and, stalking quietly along, stood under 

 the very tree in which you had been sitting, not 

 thirty yards from me. He stood for a few minutes 

 clearly defined in the bright moonlight, gazed 

 suspiciously up at your mechan, but would not 

 come up to the kill, which, you know, was close 

 to me. Peter whispered to me to let the tiger 

 come up to the kill, and begin eating before I 

 fired, and, like an ass, I followed his advice. The 

 delay was fatal, for old " Stripes," who was evident- 

 ly suspicious, either heard or winded us, and 

 promptly decamped without my firing at him. I 

 waited on some three hours, and then got sick of 

 it, so followed your example and went to roost.' 



After breakfast we strolled down to view the 

 kill, when lo ! and behold, it was gone ! The 

 marks were plainly visible where the tiger had 

 dragged it into the jungle, and we were soon 

 guided to the spot by the vultures sitting over it. 

 Yes, there it was, half-eaten, and we had been 

 made fools of. We tried several beats on specula- 

 tion, but never came across this most leary tiger. 

 However, we had had grand sport, and could not 

 grumble, and I can still look back on these happy 

 days spent in the Danda jungles with pride and 

 pleasure, and say, in the words of the old Indian 

 hunting-song, 



