TIGER SLAYER BY ORDER 



in any scheme so idiotic, for as I learnt later professional 

 big-game hunting in India is practically tabooed, nor even 

 if permissible to engage in it, would the profit derived from 

 its pursuit cover the cost of ammunition much less provide 

 a livelihood for the hunter. 



Nevertheless the fact that big-game shooting was ob- 

 tainable in India — even if it had to be combined with some 

 less congenial occupation, was quite sufficient to inspire 

 me with the desire to go out. 



Thus it came about that on a bright March morning, 



I found myself and my belongings on board the s.s. , 



en route for Bombay, and eventually Guzerat where my 

 father was then commanding the 1st Bombay Grenadiers. 



The voyage out was not in any way remarkable, and 

 except for one incident, my experiences were probably 

 much the same as those of the majority of youngsters 

 making this great voyage to the East. The first night on 

 board with all its attendant discomfort and anxiety, 

 followed by days perhaps of sea-sickness and misery — till 

 a calmer sea restores his physical and mental equilibrium, 

 must obviously be endured by all who voyage on the waters, 

 and to those who do so for the first time in their lives, must 

 necessarily prove more irksome. 



But after these first few painful days comes a period 

 generally most enjoyable, for amongst the crowd of pas- 

 sengers on board a P. & O. there are always some to be 

 found both capable and willing to cater for the amusement 

 of the rest. 



Thus once the stormy waters of the " famous " Bay 

 are passed — and weather conditions consequently more 

 favourable — life on board assumes a very different hue. 

 Dances, concerts, or theatricals now fill up the after- 

 dinner hours, which heretofore had passed with leaded 

 feet, while cricket, deck-quoits or shovel-board tend to 

 shorten the otherwise long periods between meals. 



It was while one of these exciting contests was in 

 progress that the exceptional incident I have referred to 

 occurred. The game was one of deck-quoits, so far as I 

 remember, the ship being in the Indian Ocean at the time 

 — about half-way between Aden and Bombay. 



It was a lovely morning with hardly a ripple on the 

 2 



