ROUGHING IT IN SOUTHERN INDIA 255 



with the coach still on its wheels was a wonder, for the 

 route they had taken was easily traced. Knowing that 

 they could not have moved through the forest, they had 

 kept all the time to some sort of cart-track, choosing that 

 leading most directly to a village ; and this although it 

 was dark and the ground was quite new to them, their 

 instinct, or maybe their sense of smell, guiding them towards 

 human habitations and security. 



How long the stalking of that coach had been going on 

 none can say, but at any rate the end must have come 

 very swiftly at the last. The tiger would take good care 

 to keep well to windward of the bullocks, stealing after 

 them cautiously, all unsuspected till alongside and his 

 destined prey within reach. Then, once the keen-nosed 

 bullocks smelt tiger, nothing could restrain them ; they must 

 have broken into a maddened gallop at the same instant 

 that the spring was made upon their driver. 



Can any moment be more awful than that in which such 

 a victim first perceives his doom close upon him, in the form 

 of something pacing beside him with noiseless footfall, 

 glaring up at him, perhaps, before he makes his spring ? 

 For he must know that these are the last seconds of his life 

 — one pang of mortal agony, and then, pray God, uncon- 

 sciousness. However, no one who has not gone through 

 such an experience can realise it, so it is vain to speculate. 

 Happily the agony must be short — that is the only comfort. 

 The result of this affair was that not a man would remain 

 in the service of that Doray, neither would any others enter 

 it. Therefore, as in India existence is not possible to Euro- 

 peans without servants, he could no longer stay there ; 

 besides which, public opinion, very frankly expressed, would 

 have taken him long to live down. So he was driven to 

 resign the service, which suited him no better than he 

 suited it. 



Tigers have their moods. This, a story told us by a friend 



