THE HIGHER NARBADA. 341 



straitened for food, as, having become confirmed in his taste 

 for human flesh, he could now eat no other ; so he took to fre- . 

 quenting the outskirts of the village, and two or three times 

 stalked the Aheers who were driving home their cattle up to 

 the very doors. The buffaloes, however, which you know do 

 not in the least fear a tiger when in a body, always discovered 

 him and drove him off before he could do any mischief. Thus 

 repeatedly baffled, the man-eater conceived the bold idea of 

 lying in wait for one of the cowherds in his own house. This 

 he did, somehow managing to smuggle himself in unobserved ; 

 and when the wretched man, after securing his charge in their 

 shed, returned blithely home to his dinner, just as he reached 

 the door forth sprang the terrible scourge of the village, and, 

 racing off to the hills with the Aheer in his horrid jaws, disap- 

 peared in an instant ! 



" It was about the hour of sunset, and most of the villagers 

 returned from their work were collected by the image of Ma- 

 hadeo, under the village pepul tree, discussing the events of 

 the day. Amongst them was a G6nd Thakur, named Pdd&m 

 Singh, who had killed his tiger, and was consequently con- 

 sidered the village authority on sporting matters. He was a 

 man of determination, as his after-conduct will show, and at 

 once proposed that they should proceed in a body and rescue 

 the remains of their fellow-villager from the maw of the 

 spoiler. Arming themselves as best they could, and taking 

 all the drums and other noisy instruments in the village, they 

 sallied forth and approached the spot where the man-eater 

 had retired to devour the Aheer. Bold and undaunted as the 

 tiger is when himself the aggressor, the most terrible man- 

 eater wants the courage to stand the approach of a body of men 

 like this ; so he retreated (as indeed the villagers very well knew 

 he would). They found the corpse half eaten, the upper half 



