78 THE HUNTING GROUNDS 



presence, or, indeed, any movement in the grass. 

 The fire roared and crackled like the file-firing of 

 musketry, dark and dense volumes of smoke rose in 

 a huge column against the cloudless sky, and I 

 besan to be afraid that the beaters had been mis- 

 taken in supposing the brute to have taken refuge 

 in the cover, when suddenly the air resounded with 

 a fearful roar, and immediately a magnificent tigress 

 and a half-grown cub sprang into the sandy bed of 

 the nullah, from a place close to where the fire had 

 reached. I heard a simultaneous discharge of half- 

 a-dozen shots, and through the smoke I just dis- 

 cerned the brute make a second spring, which was 

 immediately followed by a piercing yell. I knew 

 that some calamity had taken place, and sprang for- 

 ward just in time to see the infuriated brute tear 

 away the flesh from the thigh to the knee of 

 W 's poor horsekeeper, who was lying motion- 

 less. The tigress, who appeared wounded, was 

 stretched half-leaning over her victim ; she turned 

 her head as I approached, and couched, as if to 

 make a spring ; I raised my rifle slowly, fearing 

 to injure the poor fellow, and then let drive. The 

 ball went crashing into her brain, and she fell dead 

 on her side, the blood streaming from her mouth 

 aud nostrils. 



The poor horsekeeper did not appear quite dead, 

 though I saw at once that there was no hope for 

 him ; for the whole back part of his head was 

 carried away by the first blow from the paw, which, 



