nths at a time no villager would sight the tiger mates. It was
positively stated that there were no other mature tigers within the
vicinity: that is, within the seventy-miles range. The pair had been
known to bring up at least three litters; but the young had been driven
at the approach of maturity to outlying hunting grounds, as had been
all the weaker tigers of the vicinity.

Now the report came into Hurda that an English hunter had wounded the
big female. Another report followed that the Englishman had killed the
male and wounded the female. The hunter himself did not appear in
Hurda; nor was a trophy hide recorded anywhere. Skag heard the two
stories. Thinking over the affair, he called Nels for a stroll in the
open jungle toward the Monkey Glen.

To the American there was a pang about the hunter's story. He was
altogether unsentimental, but wild animals had to do with his reason
for being and there was his fixed partiality for tigers. The
uncertainty about the story troubled him. This was the time of year
for kittens and it was seldom far from his mind that these parents were
not man-eaters. The stories of the hunter were indefinite. The thing
worked upon Skag as he walked. The thought of finding the motherless
lair and bringing in a hamper of starving young occurred to him as a
sane performance, but not one to speak about. Also his servant,
Bhanah, reported Nels superbly fit for travel and adventure.

The animal trainer rode the elephant, Nut Kut, into one of the villages
in the tiger-ranging grounds and left him in charge of the mahout,
saying that he might be gone two or three days and that he was out for
a ramble among the waste places of the valley. Skag took merely a
haversack, a canteen, light blanket and a hunting belt, carrying a
knife and a six-shooter but no rifle. Nels actually lost his dignity
in enthusiasm for the excursion, and they were miles away from a
village and hours deep in an apparently leisurely journey before he
subsided into that observant calm which was his notable characteristic.

This light travelling, with none other than the great hunting dog,
brought him back a keen zest of appreciation and memories of early days
among the circus animals, and his first adventures in India with
Cadman. Moreover, there was a fresh mystery that had to do with Carlin
after Skag's first supper fire afield. He had always resented the fact
that it was straight out-and-out pain for him to