of themselves becoming a sacrifice to the tiger. And as
they crouched behind their respective bushes they had time to brood over
the appalling stories of hairbreadth escapes just recounted to them by
the gallant captain, who had been particular in describing the requisites
for the successful tiger-shot--the steady hand and steady nerve--admitting
that these were not always efficacious, as the last tiger he had
encountered had struck him on the leg, and his torn inexpressibles
existed to this day to testify to it. The thoughts of this and sundry
other escapes he had experienced made the blood run cold, as one imagined
every rustle of the leaves to be a bristling tiger, preparing for his
fatal spring.

Gradually the beaters approached nearer and nearer, and, as the circle
became smaller, pea-fowl innumerable flew over our heads with a loud
whirr, their brilliant plumage glancing in the sunshine like shot-silk. A
few moments more, and I perceived stripes gliding rapidly behind a bush,
and a shot from L--- made me suspect that our _worst_ anticipations had
been realised, and that we had really found a tiger--a suspicion which
soon disappeared, however, as a grisly hyaena bounded away, having
received a ball in his hind-quarters, which unfortunately did not prevent
his retreat.

The beaters soon after appeared over the brow of the hill, and relieved
us for the present from further apprehension of that charge which was to
seal our fate, for the monarch of the Indian jungle had changed his
location. We beat some more jungles, in the hope of finding other game,
but only succeeded in bagging a deer. I had a long shot at a four-horned
buck, but the smooth bore of my piece was not equal to the distance.

On our way home we came upon a cave, which, from marks in the
neighbourhood, bore evident signs of containing a panther; we accordingly
attempted to smoke him out by lighting quantities of straw at the mouth,
but he was not to be forced out of his secure retreat, and preferred
bearing an amount of smoke that would have stifled a German student.

On the following day we renewed our attempt to find a tiger, and were to
a certain extent successful, as at one time we were within a few yards of
him, and could see the bushes move, but he succeeded in breaking through
the line of beaters; and some deer and a neelgye were all the game we
could boast of, notwithstanding a perseverance and endurance of heat
worthy of greater success