58 THE HUNTING GROUNDS 



I noticed that the trail of his retreat did not lead 

 in the same direction as that from whence he came, 

 and he seemed to have made the circuit of the 

 village two or three times before he fell in with his 

 victim, I followed the marks of his pugs through 

 some rather open custard-apple jungle, to the dry 

 sandy bed of a nullah, or watercourse, where the 

 trail was very plain ; and although there were no 

 marks of blood to be seen, yet I knew that he had 

 still carried his victim, as the pugs of his fore feet 

 were more deeply imprinted in the sand than those 

 of the hind, from the extra weight he carried in his 

 mouth, whereas I have observed that the marks of 

 the hind feet are generally the plainest. 



A little further on, I perceived a large patch of 

 dry blood, round which the flies were buzzing, and 

 from the marks in the sand I knew that the brute 

 had lain down the body of his victim for a moment, 

 in order, perhaps, to get a better gripe. 



Whilst showing this to W , I noticed marks 



in the sand which made me believe that his victim 

 had not been quite dead at this time, for there 

 were impressions as if she had made convulsive 

 clutches with her hands. 



I tracked him down this nullah for upwards of a 

 mile, until we came to a pool of water. The banks, 

 which had become steeper and higher, were covered 

 with dense thorny jungle, which waved darkly over- 

 head. Here the pugs of the tiger were much 

 obliterated by the marks of other wild animals. 



