A COW KILLED. 79 



Their first impulse, indeed, had been to jump up 

 and get out their guns ; and young Hawkes, deem- 

 ing that immediate action must necessarily ensue, 

 was already getting into his sporting costume with 

 praiseworthy alacrity. A few questions, however, 

 from his more experienced companions after awhile 

 elicited the fact, that the man had not himself seen 

 the tiger, hut only the mangled body of the defunct 

 cow. It had, he said, strayed during the night, and 

 following its track, he had come upon it dead and 

 partly eaten, and hastened at once to apprise the 

 hunters of the circumstance. 



" Rugonauth or some of the puggees will be sure 

 to come across it, or, at any rate, find traces of the 

 tiger," said Mackenzie. 



" Yes," replied Norman. " There has been a tiger 

 hovering about this jungle for some time past ; and 

 though he has not visited it for the last three or four 

 days, they will hardly leave it unexamined. But 

 suppose we go and have a look at the cow ! " 



" Don't you think it might disturb the brute ? 

 He is sure to be lying somewhere near, and might 

 sneak off," observed the cautious Scotchman. 



" Hardly. He is very likely gorged ; and besides, 

 this fellow says the cow is half a field away from 

 the jungle." 



" All right, come along then. But we had better 



