204 THE JUNGLE ON FIRE. 



By this time it was getting dusk. In addition to this, one of 

 the men, either accidentally or with the idea of trying to drive 

 out the tigers, had foolishly set alight the long dry nurkul, 

 and the fire, which now began roaring and crackling as the 

 flames shot high in the air, was beginning to spread with 

 such rapidity that, for the second time during the day, we 

 had to beat a hasty retreat. 



As we were a considerable distance from camp, we had a 

 long and toilsome ride on the elephants, as they jogged slowly 

 and wearily in single file through the dark jungle, which was 

 ever and anon dimly lighted up by the red glow reflected on 

 the clouds of smoke that overhung the fire raging fitfully 

 behind us. The distance, however, would have been thought 

 little of had there been a dead tiger on one of the pads. 



We beat round about for the tigers next morning, and came 

 upon one of them, but, owing to the thickness of the jungle, 

 failed to get a shot. Being our last day out after all chance, 

 as we thought, of again finding the tigers was over a general 

 battue was commenced. It was just about sundown when, 

 having badly wounded a fine stag cheetal, I left the line to 

 follow him up ; but failing to find him, I was jogging quickly 

 and carelessly along, endeavouring to overtake the line. So 

 little idea had I of seeing game of any sort on the ground 

 which the other elephants had just passed over, that I had 

 laid down my rifle in the howdah, and was not even on the 

 look-out, when, by the merest chance, my eye fell upon an 

 object the sight of which made my heart leap. A magnifi- 

 cent tiger was just on the point of disappearing behind some 

 bushes about fifty yards in front of ma How the beast 

 escaped being observed by the rest of the line was most 

 strange, as the ground in the direction from whence it seemed 

 to have come had been recently burnt, and was almost as bare 

 as a billiard-table. Snatching up the rifle on the impulse of 

 the moment, I foolishly let drive after the beast through the 

 bushes, instead of first following it up. But, alas ! there was 



