THE MEERUT TENT CLUB 113 



and walked up to the goat. The latter strained 

 back at his rope, then jumped forward and butted 

 the panther hard in the nose. The panther, much 

 disconcerted, turned about and vanished before I 

 had had any chance of getting my rifle up. When 

 you sit up at these very close quarters the slightest 

 sound or movement betrays you. You cannot 

 possibly move till you are certain the animal's 

 eyes are not on you. 



I sat wondering and cursing. Within five 

 minutes the panther appeared again, this time on 

 my right. He had made a detour behind me and 

 come up on the other side. I had my rifle laid, 

 and was almost ready for him. He again walked 

 quietly up to the goat, who had reined back to the 

 limit of his tether, and stood looking towards me. 

 The sun was behind me, and he seemed to think 

 there might be something amiss. Every lash of 

 his eyelids showed as he stood lazily blinking at 

 me in the afternoon sun. A fly bit him, I suppose, 

 for he turned his head aside as if to bite at his 

 off quarter, and I killed him — a fine male 7 feet 

 6 inches. The whole thing was over in ten minutes, 

 and I had skinned him before my camp arrived. 

 I had no servant, but I remember I cooked a good 

 dinner that night, and went to bed tired and happy. 



I wished to pension that plucky goat for life, 

 but the villagers would have eaten him just the 

 same ; his life would have been short, his pension 

 long. 



These natives are impossible. I had a little 

 wild pig once whom I tied to the same peg as a 

 timid horse I had. I hoped to make the horse 

 accustomed to pig, and brave : a stupid hope. 

 After some days the horse did not regard the pig. 



