TIGER-HUNTING IN CHINA 239 



clamor: they were all shouting at once, running 

 about the temple for their spears, and preparing the 

 torches in a way which looked like business. Lim 

 himself was so excited that he could hardly translate ; 

 but I finally quieted him enough to learn the news : 

 all five remaining goats, including the one by which 

 I had sat up, had been killed, the country around 

 was covered with blood-tracks, and only one head 

 and one body had been found. I vainly endeavored 

 to repress a war-whoop. 



The preparations which ensued were such as 

 would have convinced an observer that the village 

 was about to make a sally against a hostile tribe 

 the villagers sharpening their knives to cut down the 

 bushes should the tiger have to be blocked in his 

 cave ; the hunter-men arranging the torches and get- 

 ting the oil ; and the sportsman making sure for the 

 fifteenth time that his gun-barrels were spotless and 

 his cartridges in pockets quickly accessible. 



At eight we were on the spot where I had kept 

 watch the night before. The string which tied the 

 goat had been cut off short, and at a distance of ten 

 yards was the head of the animal, torn roughly from 

 the body. The men then brought up for my inspec- 

 tion the body of still another goat, untouched except 

 for two distinct tooth-marks in the neck, made as 

 cleanly as though by a vampire. This was excellent 



