"Old tiger and two little ones," he said in a low voice. He was much
more terrified of tigers than of dacoits.

"Say, he's got it quite straight," said Buck. "It's a tigress and a
pair of cubs. The eyes of the last couple are nearer the ground."

It was so dark in the jungle which surrounded them that no sign of the
bodies of the savage creatures could be seen, only the eyes, which
burned upon them with a fierce, steady gaze.

"It's a family party," said Jim. "Where's the old man tiger? It was
his call we heard, certainly."

At this moment the tigress gave tongue. She let out a horrible whining
snarl, full of ferocity and threat. In an instant her call was
answered. Somewhere near at hand in the jungle arose a terrible sound
which seemed to fill the air and shake the earth, a sound which made
the blood run cold. It was the horrible coughing roar of a charging
tiger.

"Here he comes," said Jim in a low voice, and Jack clutched his rifle
tightly.

CHAPTER XV.

IN THE JUNGLE.

A moment later, and a fresh pair of burning eyes was added to the
group in the jungle.

"Shout, shout, or he spring," cried Me Dain.

The whole party shouted at the top of their voices. This sudden uproar
checked the tiger; the most ferocious brute hesitates to leap upon
people who are making a great noise. Then a sudden flame spurted up,
and they saw the whole scene plainly. This was the doing of Buck. He
had been hastily gathering great handfuls of dried grass and piling
them together. He struck a match and tossed it into the heap. The
withered grass caught at once, and a great red flare leapt out and
lighted the scene. For the first time they saw the tigers clearly, an
immense male tiger, his smaller mate, and two large cubs. The tigress
and the cubs were retreating a little, and the male was crouching as
if for a spring, his tail lashing his flanks, but the sudden flaring
up of the fire checked him, and for the moment he did not leap.

That moment's hesitation saved them, so quickly and well was it used
by Jack. He had his rifle already at his shoulder. As the flame sprang
up, his quick eye brought the sights to bear on the huge, round head
of the crouching tiger. He touched the trigger, and the rifle spoke.
The great tiger gave one convulsive shudder, but did not move. There
was a general thrill of terror among the party. Had Jack missed, or
only grazed him? If it was so, he would spring at once, and his mate
would follow