THE MAN-EATER KILLED. 89 



Santhal, armed with bow and axe, who indicated by gestures 

 that what we sought was on our right. 



Between us and the line of thorny little trees was nothing 

 but a heavy crop of rice in ear, through which we made our 

 way very gingerly, and I was endeavouring to pierce the 

 shadows of the mimosas, expecting to see there the panther 

 crouching upon the remains of the unfortunate woman, when 

 a large round object appeared over the tall grain, which at 

 first I could not make out to my satisfaction, as the bright 

 rays of the sinking sun struck upon it almost horizontally, 

 bathing it and the standing yellow grain in a golden haze. 

 A step or two more, and the object on which my eyes were 

 fixed rose very slowly, and then I knew that the tiger I 

 had so long sought in vain was glaring savagely at me above 

 the ripening paddy, and no paltry panther. A moment of 

 death-like silence ensued, and then a bullet from a double 

 Westley-Bichards rifle struck the terrible beast, who, to 

 obtain a fair view of us, had raised his head a little by 

 placing his fore-paws upon a narrow ridge dividing two fields. 

 With an angry grunt the tiger sprang forward, receiving the 

 bullet from the left barrel, and turning over on his back into 

 the rice-field, from which he sent out loud and fierce growls. 



Seeing now that the tiger's line of retreat, should he wish 

 to avoid us, would be through the trees, behind him, I moved 

 round to cut it off if attempted, and afterwards advancing 

 steadily from that direction, I came upon him as he lay on his 

 stomach facing me, mouth open, eyes shooting out angry 

 lightnings, and ears tightly pressed down against his head, 

 but unable to rise, his spine being broken by the second shot, 

 the first having struck him within an inch of his heart ; and 

 thus we stood for a few seconds, eyes looking into eyes, only 

 a dozen paces apart, the murderous beast endeavouring all the 

 time to drag his maimed and helpless body forward upon his 

 tremendous forearms, while I waited, finger on trigger, to take 

 in fully the grand sight before me. As the disc of the blood- 

 red sun touched the horizon I fired once more, and the 

 dreaded man-eater ceased to breathe. 



