216 SHIKAR SKETCHES. 



open piece, devoid of any shade or cover, on such 

 a broiling hot day. He had, accordingly, left his 

 post, and come back to post himself in what he 

 thought would be a better place. 



Here was mistake number two, for, as it turned 

 out afterwards, both tigers passed right under the 

 very tree he had originally been in, and went away 

 up into some bare, rocky hills. Here we followed 

 them, attracted by the chattering of some mon- 

 keys, but failed to find them. On our return, on 

 jumping down from a rock, I fell and dented one 

 barrel of my rifle rather badly. Bit of bad luck 

 number three. Soon after we came on fresh foot- 

 prints and a spot under an overhanging rock 

 showing plainly that one of the tigers, at least, 

 had lain up in a little corrie not fifty yards out of 

 the line of our beat up the hill. We had been in 

 too great a hurry, and had passed him by, and 

 this he took advantage of by doubling back to his 

 original cover. Mistake number four. 



To make a long story short, we tried every 

 dodge to circumvent these wily brutes, but in- 

 effectually ; at last, being past five o'clock, we had 

 given it up, and were on our way back to the 

 village where the elephant was awaiting us, when 

 we saw one of the tigers drinking at a pool below 

 us, some hundred yards off. She was too quick, 

 however, for, hearing the chattering of the beat- 



