A BELGAUM TIGER 49 



got out of the beat. They looked rather astonished 

 and said they were quite sure he had not gone 

 through the beaters or even tried to go through; 

 that they had seen him lying very sick under a 

 bamboo, and they thought not able to move. This 

 was cheering news, very different from what I 

 expected. They had come to beg for the rifle, as 

 Krishna could see the tiger from the top of a high 

 tree and he would climb up and finish him from 

 there. I said I most certainly would not give them 

 the rifle, as I was coming myself; and I told them 

 to take away the branches that were fixed up to 

 hide the ladder, so that I could get down. Laximan 

 said : 



" If the mem-sahib comes it will put us all in 

 great danger : we shall have to help her into a 

 tree first, before we can climb, and if the bagh comes 

 at us then we shall have no chance. If we try and 

 put up the ladder, then we shall make more noise 

 and it will be more dangerous still." 



This was quite true; I certainly could not run 

 up a tree as they could, but still I wanted to go, and 

 said I would go on foot. 



Laximan said, his sahib had told him not to let 

 me get into danger, and I was in his charge and he 

 would get all the blame if anything happened ; and 

 also " no promotion " I knew he meant, though he 

 did not say so. 



So I gave them the rifle and some cartridges and 

 after a time I heard them banging away. They 

 came back for more cartridges : more bangs ! Then 

 again they came ; this time they said they thought 



