TBE ROYAL TIGER OF BENGAL. 77 



cross. H. this time took up his position close 

 to me ; my elephant again became very restive, 

 uneasy, and alarmed. The elephants in the swamp 

 again gave signs that the tigers were near, and in a 

 moment, within forty yards of us, a large male tiger 

 bounded across the opening and plunged into the 

 jungle on the opposite side. Off went my elephant 

 again as before, this time taking H.'s elephant with 

 her, to our disgust. We had just time to get a 

 couple of hurried shots at him as he entered the 

 swamp before our elephants were off with us. We 

 stopped them as before, and came back to the head 

 of the swamp into which the big tiger had just 

 crossed, and waited there for him as the line beat 

 up behind ; we heard his foot-falls as he came along 

 before the line, but when he saw that he was near 

 the end, and I suppose distrusting the plain, he 

 suddenly turned back and charged through the line ; 

 we turned immediately, and just as we got' back to 

 the opening where he had before crossed, he again 

 broke cover and bounded across the opening, trying 

 to make for the high bank on the opposite side. 

 H. got first shot, being a little in front of me, and 

 rolled him over with a ball through his back. We 

 pushed up to where he was howling and struggling 

 in the long grass — a magnificent sight — and emptied 

 our barrels into him. We left him lying stiff and 

 dead to go after the other tiger, which had also 

 doubled back, and whilst we were shooting his, 

 Qompanion had broken cover and was cantering 



