STRANGE PETS 293 



Snakes and hyaenas are strange pets, but strangest 

 of all is a full-grown tiger, and such a pet had Major 

 Mansell-Pleydell. It used to be chained up just 

 in front of the door of his bungalow. The Major 

 had a method of running up bills with local trades- 

 men, but there was great difficulty in getting pay- 

 ment, as none of the bill collectors were venturesome 

 enough to cross the guardian at the door. It was 

 a great joke of the Major's when asked to pay his 

 bill to reply, " have you sent your bill; your man 

 has never presented it at my house/' Brutus, 

 as the tiger was named, seemed to know what was 

 required of him. When chained before his master's 

 door he would lie with his head between his fore- 

 paws and watch the gate. If a stranger entered 

 he would lift his head and breathe heavily, and this 

 was enough to scare the most venturesome of bill 

 collectors. 



Pleydell and another were out shooting at Arsi- 

 keri (before railway times) and Brutus went with 

 them. The scrub jungle making up the Amrut 

 Mahal Kavals, to the south of the village, was a 

 noted place for tiger. The native shikarees had 

 marked down four of these dreaded beasts a tiger 

 and tigress with two well-grown cubs. In the 

 morning's shoot Pleydell had been very success- 

 ful, and had bagged the mother and two cubs before 

 breakfast, within a mile of the travellers' bungalow. 

 The tiger w r as still about, and they made up their 

 minds to try and get him before night. Brutus 

 was chained up before leaving. Pleydell and his 

 friend, each with a shikaree and beaters, had taken 



