A RICKETY HAMMOCK 179 



again; he jumped up and rushed, all doubled up, 

 under my machan, where he fell dead. 



There was a great tamasha when he was carried 

 home in the dark. The women all came and took 

 it in turn to wave a little, nasty smelling oil light 

 three times round my face, and offered a coco-nut 

 to the dead panther. The men had tom-toms and 

 instruments of ten strings and danced all round and 

 shouted for I do not know how long, but until I 

 told them to stop. 



The tiger killed again, in a jungle that the shikari 

 said was too difficult to beat to one gun. I do not 

 think that this was the real reason for not beating, 

 as it seemed to me a very good lie of country to 

 beat; but the year before two beaters had been 

 killed and they were all very loath to do it. They 

 made many excuses and I gave in, and arrangements 

 were made for me to sit up all night over the kill. 



I think I have said I generally used a hammock 

 made of canvas, stretched and tied at the four 

 corners by strong ropes to a branching tree, or two 

 trees ; it was long enough to lie down in crossways, 

 was very comfortable, made no noise if one shifted 

 about in it, and was good to shoot from. 



The tree the hammock was tied up in was near 

 the broad grass road, though some little way in the 

 jungle, and there was a tiny half-open hut by the 

 roadside. The moon was rising just before sunset 

 when the men left and went back to the village, 

 some miles away. They were not to come back 

 again until after dawn. The ladder I had used was 

 left standing by the tree, partly hidden with leaves 



