CREATURES OF THE WILDERNESS 123 



were numerous tracks of tiger, bear, and 

 hyena. 



Taking all necessary precaution against a 

 sudden charge, the party built up the eight 

 entrances securely with rocks and timber. 

 Next morning the entrance in which the cub 

 had been seen overnight was carefully opened, 

 and it was found necessary, after making a 

 chevaux de frise of hog-spears, to enlarge this 

 entrance by excavating the floor to a depth of 

 more than a foot. It was then found, on 

 probing the interior of the cavern, that there 

 was an outer chamber, about fifteen feet in 

 diameter, from which an entrance two feet 

 square led to an inner chamber of considerable 

 depth so far as could be judged. In the 

 course of these operations, a deep growl from 

 the interior announced that a tiger was at 

 home, but whether it was the full-grown male 

 or merely a cub could not at once be deter- 

 mined. Two of the regimental shikaris, Naik 

 Athman Sing and Sowar Jeimal Sing, now 

 entered the outer chamber armed with hog- 

 spears and made certain that there were no 

 other exits. A number of bundles of dry grass 

 were now cut and pushed, with the aid of a 

 twenty-foot bamboo, into the inner chamber, 

 and a torch was next lit and thrust in on the 

 bamboo, while the mouth of the cavern was 

 completely covered with blankets held in place 



