134 FOREST LIFE AND SPORT IN INDIA 
would be snugly under shelter—the pigs in the little 
grass huts they cunningly construct when warned by 
approaching storms; the deer under the densest 
foliage, with faces to the wind and ears turned to 
the rear to detect any suspicious sound ; the birds 
clustered side by side on the lee of the warmest trees 
—and that only such stolid and hardy creatures as the 
vultures, who one hour are in the sultry heat, and 
the next in the icy drifts two or more miles above, 
would make light of the drenching mist and heavy 
showers that passed over the forest. But we also 
knew that we had to keep heart in our hunters, 
who themselves, in spite of weather, had brought us 
news of the kill, that if we failed them on such 
occasions we should be branded as fine-weather 
sportsmen, and that our example would soon be 
followed by our men. 
Then the tiger appeared to put life into our 
shivering frames; a big male of sullen aspect, his 
hide darkened by the universal moisture, his temper 
short with the showers that fell on him from every 
bush he touched, he came slowly but determinedly 
towards us till the click of the hammer as the 
first cartridge missed fire brought him to a halt, and 
as the left barrel followed suit he gazed around with 
an angry stare. The second rifle lay between us 
under rugs and hats and all the paraphernalia 
collected to protect from the elements the two 
human beings who crouched in a space of some four 
feet by two; it was dragged out with pressing haste, 
and still the tiger could not detect the whereabouts 
of danger, yet, growling uneasily, he turned to go. 
At that moment he was shot through the heart, 
