/ SHOOT TWO TIGERS 449 



over ; but she picked herself up, and with a magnificent bound 

 disappeared into the long grass. There were within 100 

 yards a lot of villagers returning from fishing, and I had to go 

 towards them and tell them to make themselves scarce, as 

 there was a wounded tiger close by. This delayed me a little, 

 and I then returned and searched about everywhere, but could 

 not find a trace of her. I thought she had sneaked away 

 along the bed of a nullah close by. I was in a rage ; it is not 

 often that one comes upon three tigers sitting on their haunches 

 like dogs, and then fail to bag one at such close quarters. I 

 abused the mahout, though when I came to think of it, he was 

 in no way to blame. I told him to go back and look for the 

 trail afresh. He replied, " Sahib, you have killed one the 

 first you fired at ; the second has gone away wounded." I 

 thought he merely said this to flatter me, and I got angrier, 

 if possible. 



" If I have killed one," I said, " where is it ? " 



" I will show the sahib," he replied, and took me back to the 

 spot I had fired from at first, and sure enough, there lay a 

 tiger stone dead. He had fallen without a movement, and 

 what with the smoke and my attention being distracted by 

 the survivors, I had not noticed that he had fallen. In front 

 of the dead tiger lay a fawn, dead, as I supposed, so I told 

 my mahout to get down and secure it, as it would do for 

 the table ; but no sooner had the man got almost up to it than 

 the little creature jumped up and ran away, and would have 

 escaped had not I shot it for the pot. My own idea is, that 

 the mother tigress and her eldest hopeful had been giving the 

 youngster a lesson in stalking, and that the hopeful had made 

 a good beginning and had floored its first victim, when I 

 appeared on the scene. I did not search for the mother as I 

 thought she had got away. 



February 26. I hunted for the wounded rhinoceros, saw 

 lots of quite fresh marks, but not a pachyderm. I got into 

 the midst of a large herd of marsh deer, and shot several. 



February 27. I started for Koliabar across country, in- 

 tending to shoot my way. I made straight for where I had 

 seen the tigers the day before, and after passing it, up flew a 

 lot of vultures. I thought it was the dead rhinoceros at last, 



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