26o 
WILD BEASTS AND THEIR WAVS 
CHAP. 
but Mr. Duff had carefully prepared a dummy, 
dressed exactly to personate the usual native carter; 
the bullocks, being well trained, would follow 
closely in the rear of the leading cart, from which 
a splendid shot would be obtained should the tiger 
venture upon an attack. 
All went well ; the road was desolate, bordered 
by jungle upon one side, and wild grass-land upon 
the other. They had now reached the locality 
where the dreaded danger lay, and slowly the carts 
moved along the road in their usual apathetic 
manner. This must have been an exciting moment, 
and Mr. Duff was no doubt thoroughly on the look¬ 
out. Suddenly there was a roar; a large tiger 
bounded from the jungle, and with extraordinary 
quickness seized the dummy driver from his seat 
upon the rearmost cart, and dragged the unresisting 
victim towards the jungle ! 
Nothing could have been better planned, but one 
chance had been forgotten, which was necessary to 
success. No sooner had the tiger roared, and 
bounded upon the cart, than the affrighted bullocks, 
terrified by the dreadful sound, at once stampeded 
off the road, and went full gallop across country, 
followed by Mr. Duff’s bullocks in the wildest panic. 
It was impossible to fire, and after a few seconds 
of desperate chariot race, both carts capsized 
among the numerous small nullahs of the broken 
ground, where bullocks and vehicles lay in super¬ 
lative confusion; the victorious man-eater was 
left to enjoy rather a dry meal of a straw-stuffed 
