190 A SPLENDID SHOT, 
• 
him out, and he had hardly made the remark when out he 
came and we could see him quite plain with our glasses ; he 
looked a noble beast. It was a fine sight as we lay watching 
him ; the %'ultures had all settled down on the side of the hill 
afraid to go near the carcass. After some time H.R.hL 
disappeared, and Francis proposed that we should go round 
and get above the place where we had seen him and watch 
within shot ; in doing so we should disturb the vultures 
which in all probability would bring him out again. We 
managed the stalk very well, put the vultures on the wing 
and got to the edge of the shola, creeping a little further down 
where we could command all the ground above the buffalo, 
R. was to have first shot, so I did not even cock my rifle, 
intending to reserve my fire in case of a charge. The 
vultures before long began to collect in large nunibers on 
the opposite hill ; I counted fifty, but they would not go near 
the carcass. Several crows more bold came down and kicked 
up a great row over their meal ; all of a sudden they all flew 
up and 1 felt certain it was the tiger, but I could see 
nothing. Some minutes afterwards R. fired. I looked 
about to see where the tiger was, when R. cried out, " He's 
dead ! " and sure enough on going down there he was as 
dead as a stone, shot right through the brain, lying just above 
the buffalo ; he had evidently been brought down by the row 
the crows were making. R; when he fired only saw his ear 
and part of his head about ninety yards off ; it was a splendid 
shot. Satisfying ourselves that he was dead by pelting him 
with stones and making a great noise, we went down and 
inspected him ; he was a grand beast. We made him 
by rough measurement, 9 feet i inch long and 3 feet 6 inches 
at the shoulder. He had a wound four or five inches long 
