A WEEK OF DISASTER 107 



During all this time the tigress kept up a 

 continuous low growling, but I was unable to 

 locate her exact position. I advanced again 

 and again to the proximity of the cover to try 

 and induce her to charge out into the open, but 

 without success. The forest guard, who stuck 

 to me most pluckily, apparently thought I was 

 taking things too easily, as he repeatedly urged 

 me to be watchful ; but the tigress had evidently 

 no intention of leaving the cover. Night was 

 coming on, and something had to be done. The 

 old Baiga, who did his best to atone for his 

 misdemeanour by remaining on the scene and 

 giving any assistance he could, urged me to go 

 in and finish off the tigress in the cover. This 

 I was not keen to do, as I was unable to locate 

 her, and was afraid that she might pull me down 

 from behind in the thick cover. There appeared, 

 however, to be no prospect of getting a shot at 

 her in any other way, and I was determined not 

 to withdraw defeated : but, before going in, I 

 decided to make one more attempt to drive in 

 the buffaloes. 



We accordingly collected the buffaloes, and 

 brought them to the edge of the thick cover at a 

 point where it was easier for them to enter than 

 it was where we had first tried to drive them in. 

 One of the herdsmen had vanished, but the other 

 behaved splendidly and cheered on the buffaloes, 

 while I stood beside him and covered him. The 

 plucky little Gond guard was also close at hand. 

 The buffaloes entered the cover and found the 

 tigress, and, as they did so, they drew together 

 shoulder to shoulder, forming a solid phalanx, and 



