ROUGHING IT IN SOUTHERN INDIA 263 



even wished that Rollo would keep awake for company, so 

 did his quiet breathing deceive me — to my comfort and best 

 assurance. But in that very wish I was wronging him ; 

 for with him, to be on guard was not to sleep, and, true to 

 his trust, while others slept — dogs and all — he lay awake, 

 listening, to make sure before ever he spoke. He could 

 smell, too, for towards morning, while it was still dark, I 

 for the first time heard a rustling in his straw, followed by 

 a low growl ; he seemed to stand up, and then he bayed 

 loudly. That same instant I heard something, and felt it 

 too, just at my head, my cot being close up to the hut-side ; 

 and Rollo was beside me in one bound, going nearly mad, 

 baying, barking, howling all at once, and pressing his nose 

 up against the partition, a mere matter of half an inch or 

 so between inside and outside. On touching him I found 

 that he was quivering all over, with every hair stiffened 

 in rage at something just outside that was quite audibly 

 snuffing and breathing through the bamboo laths. It was 

 only a second or two really, I suppose, but it seemed an 

 age. Then the intruder moved on, and Rollo rushed back to 

 the door (as I could hear, though it was too dark to see), 

 using his best endeavours to tear it down, but it had been 

 well made of wired bamboo, and stood firm. Nothing would 

 try to get in that way, I was sure, so I was only fearful lest 

 the door should give way before Rollo's frantic tugging. 

 However, long before this, the uproar in camp was enough 

 to scare off anything — men shouting, and dogs barking them- 

 selves hoarse to be let out. There was no pacifying Rollo, 

 who was not used to being shut up when anything so much 

 to his taste was going on out of doors. But the exciting 

 cause was far enough off by now, and the people were coming 

 round with lanterns to tell me what they proposed doing, 

 namely, to search for footprints, and if, as suspected, they 

 proved to be those of a tiger, to cut out the square of earth 

 bodily for exhibition to the Doray on his return, in proof 



