204 ADVENTURES OF AN ELEPHANT HUNTER ch. 
the plaintiff with a couple of askaris to arrest the 
confederate. This was done, and he was brought 
and charged before the magistrate. Ludicrous as it 
may seem, his defence was that, as he had murdered 
the Indian himself, with very little assistance from 
the plaintiff, he was naturally entitled to the lion’s 
share of the spoil. Subsequently, they were both 
tried, found guilty of murder, and executed, and 
even to the very last they were firmly convinced 
that someone in authority had blundered, and that, 
somehow or other, there had been a dreadful mis¬ 
carriage of justice. 
On another occasion, one of my servants came 
to me in great distress, saying that his wife’s 
murderer had just arrived in the district, and asking 
me to have him arrested. Explaining the matter, 
he said that the murder had been committed ten 
years ago, and on my asking him how he recognized 
the delinquent after the lapse of so many years, he 
replied that he could not be sure of his identity, but 
felt certain that the man must be the actual murderer, 
for he had been boasting of the deed. I sent for 
the man in question and he came quite willingly. 
He made no secret of the fact that ten years 
previously he had killed a woman, but said he was 
rather hazy as to whether it was my man’s wife or 
not. 
I sent him to the nearest magistrate, but the 
