ROUGHING IT IN SOUTHERN INDIA 209 



that, though an untried man, they had no fear of him, 

 judging him by the look in his eyes and the set of his jaw. 



It so happened that the tiger was to time ; he appeared 

 suddenly, his noiseless footfalls giving not the least hint 

 of his approach till there he stood, nearly full face, looking 

 leisurely about him, never once casting his eyes aloft to 

 where other pairs of unwinking eyes were hidden in the 

 foliage watching him. Lots had been drawn for the first 

 shot, and the lot had fallen to the other sportsman ; but 

 the truth was that the way that tiger spread himself along- 

 side the ' kill,' in no hurry to begin, and absolutely unsus- 

 picious of any danger lying in wait for him, deprived the 

 thing of all idea of sport : it had lost zest for them both. 

 F. told me afterwards that had it not been a case of a man- 

 eating monster, and therefore a clear duty to put a stop to 

 his career, they would have let him off. To draw a bead 

 behind the ear as the tiger lay and pull trigger seemed 

 almost dishonourable, even in his case ; and it was thus 

 they felt about it in other similar cases. With so close a 

 shot there was not the faintest chance of missing ; of course, 

 if it had missed things would have taken a different turn ; 

 but no — alive one moment, stone dead the next. 



As usual with man-eaters, the fur was patchy and harsh, 

 entirely lacking that satiny gloss which is the glory of the 

 coat belonging to a decently living animal. Those that 

 take to the vice do so mostly in old age, when wind and limbs 

 fail them, and when they must go hungry many a time 

 because unable to run down a fleet stag or tackle a bison. 

 They begin to look out for something easier to capture ; 

 perhaps on some (for them) lucky day they come across an 

 old crone hobbling her painful way along, and try their 

 chance, to find no prey so easily come by. Ever afterwards 

 they seek the same, waxing bolder, too, with practice, and 

 discovering that even a man, unarmed, can be taken, let 

 alone women and children ; thus sometimes a village has 



o 



