142 
WILD BEASTS AND THEIR WA VS 
CHAP. 
this favourable spot. I fired with the *577 rifle just 
as he was passing across the dusty track. I saw 
the dust fly from the ground upon the other side as 
the hardened bullet passed like lightning through 
his flank, but I felt that I was a little too far behind 
his shoulder, as his response to the shot was a 
bound at full gallop forwards into the small clump 
of jungle that projected into the grassy open. My 
turnstool was handy, and I quickly turned to the 
right, waiting with the left-hand barrel ready for 
his reappearance upon the grass-land in the 
interval between the main jungle and the narrow 
patch. There was no time to lose, for the tiger 
appeared in a few seconds, dashing out of the 
jungle, and flying over the open at tremendous 
speed. This was about no yards distant; aiming 
about 18 inches in his front, I fired. A short 
but spasmodic roar and a sudden convulsive twist 
of his body showed plainly that he was well hit, but 
with unabated speed he gained the main forest, 
which was not more than 40 yards distant. If 
that had been a soft leaden bullet he would have 
rolled over to the shot, but I had seen the dust 
start from the ground when I fired, and I knew 
that the hard bullet had passed through without 
delivering the shock required. 
The beaters and shikaris now arrived, and 
having explained the incident, we examined the 
ground for tracks, and quickly found the claw-marks, 
which were deeply indented in the parched surface of 
fine sward. We followed these tracks cautiously into 
