Pelts 



walking over the tiger skulking in a grass 

 tussock. 



A second rush in the grass, a half-hearted one, 

 nearer to me this time, but still at the girl's 

 howdah. This time I saw nothing of the beast, 

 and I don't think the girl saw more than a gleam 

 of yellow, at which she fired one barrel. Up to 

 now I had been naturally diffident about firing 

 at what was the girl's tiger, but No. i howdah 

 shouted me to fire the moment I saw the brute, 

 and I was quite prepared to do so. 



Almost immediately after the second charge 

 I heard a rustle just in front of me. The tiger 

 was evidently slinking down towards the thick 

 patch of grass in which he had broken back 

 once already. This manoeuvre was soon spotted, 

 however, and he was sent back by the elephants. 

 It was too late now for that kind of thing. Had 

 he tried the road much earlier in the beat, he 

 had some chance of escaping unscathed, as the 

 shot any of us would have had would have been 

 a very nasty one. Now he would have to face 

 the fire of more than one rifle in all probability — 

 a fitting reward for the cur he undoubtedly was ! 



As he sprang back on being turned by the 

 elephants, he must have passed within 15 yards 

 of the edge of the grass fronting me, but so thick 

 was it that I could see absolutely nothing at all. 

 The excitement was all the greater, since none of 

 us knew for certain whether the beast was wounded 



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