"TIGER IN CHARGE OF PLATFORM" 



passed his station, he was seated writing in his office, when 

 he heard a great commotion on the platform, and looking 

 through the door, saw his pointsman, and one or two other 

 members of his staff, apparently flying for their lives in the 

 direction of the village near the station ; while, further 

 down the platform, was a huge tiger galloping towards his 

 office. The situation was decidedly an unpleasant one for 

 the unfortunate official, alone as he was in his office, and 

 with no protective weapon more lethal than the office ruler. 

 Fortunately there was but one door to the office, the key 

 of which was providentially on the inner side. 



He had the presence of mind to draw the door quickly 

 to and lock it, and could then have mounted to the room 

 above, where with perfect safety he might have shouted at 

 the tiger, and thus possibly driven it away ; but this did 

 not occur to him, nor were there in the regulations, which 

 he knew by heart, any .instructions on the subject of 

 encounters between stationmasters and tigers. 



In these circumstances it seemed to his official mind 

 t Iiat there was but one thing to be done, and that was to 

 report the matter to headquarters and ask for assistance. 

 How this was to be furnished in time to be of any use he 

 did not trouble to conjecture, it was the proper procedure 

 and, therefore, must be observed. 



Having arrived at this decision, he lost no time in 

 carrying it out, with the result that about half an hour 

 later, the traffic manager at headquarters, two hundred 

 miles distant from the station, received the following 

 quaintly worded message : " Tiger in charge of platform. 

 1 Mease arrange.** 



The wording of the wire, though ridiculous as to the 

 request it contained, was otherwise quite to the point ; for 

 the tiger, at the moment, was certainly master of the 

 situation, and maintained its position for some time, prowl- 

 ing round the station buildings till far into the night, and 

 occasionally sniffing at the door of the office as if meilitating 

 an attemi)t to force its way in. 



Meanwhile the terror-stricken occupant, who, in spite 



of his blind confidence in routine, had realized that it was 



qTiite impossible for headquarters " to arrange,*' as he had 



<) confidingly requestcti, in time to save him, should the 



208 



