IV 
THE ELEPHANT 
141 
glade : these birds are always the forerunners of 
other animals, as they are the first to retreat. 
Presently I heard a rustle in the jungle, and I 
observed the legs of a sambur deer, which, having 
neared the edge, now halted to listen to the beaters 
before venturing to break from the dense covert. 
The beaters drew nearer, and a large doe sambur, 
instead of rushing quickly forward, walked slowly 
into the open, and stood within 10 yards of me 
upon the glade. She waited there for several 
minutes, and then, as if some suspicion had suddenly 
crossed her mind, gave two or three convulsive 
bounds and dashed back to the same covert from 
which she had approached. 
It struck me that the sambur had got the wind of 
an enemy, otherwise she would not have rushed back 
in such sudden haste ; she could not have scented 
me, as I was 10 or 12 feet above the ground, 
and the breeze was aslant. . . . Then, if a tiger were 
in the jungle, why should she dash back into the 
same covert ? 
I was reflecting upon these subjects, and looking 
out sharp towards my left and front, when I gently 
turned upon my stool to the right; there was the 
tiger himself! who had already broken from the 
jungle about 75 yards from my position. He 
was slowly jogging along as though just dis¬ 
turbed (possibly by the sambur), keeping close to 
the narrow belt of bushes already described. There 
was a foot-path from the open glade which pierced 
the belt; I therefore waited until he should cross 
