270 
WILD BEASTS AND THEIR WA YS 
CHAP. 
My ears were almost pricked with the strain of 
expectation, and I shortly heard the unmistakable 
beat of the native tom-tom. 
Hardly had the sound impressed itself upon the 
ear, when a dull but heavy tread upon the brittle 
leaves which strewed the surface arrested my 
attention. This was repeated in so slow but 
regular a manner, that I felt sure it denoted the 
stealthy step of a tiger. I looked along the 
different nullahs, but could see nothing. The 
sound ceased for at least a minute, when once 
more the tread upon dead leaves decided me that 
the animal was somewhere not far distant. At this 
moment I raised my eyes from the nullahs in which 
he was expected, and I saw, through the intervening 
leafless mass of bushes upon the opposing slope, 
a dim outline of an enormous tiger, so indistinct 
that the figure resembled the fading appearance 
of a dissolving view. Slowly and stealthily the 
shadowy form advanced along the face of the slope, 
exactly crossing my line of sight. This was the 
“ possessed of the devil ” that had escaped during so 
many years, and I could not help thinking that 
many persons would risk the shot in its present 
position, when the bullet must cut through a 
hundred twigs before it could reach the mark, and 
thus would probably be deflected. The tiger was 
now about 40 yards distant, and although the bushes 
were all leafless, there was one exception, which lay 
in the direct path the tiger was taking, a little upon 
my right; this was a very dense and large green 
