w moments, and then said to
me--he was renowned for his plain speaking--'Mr. De Silva, there's no
use beating about the bush, and prolonging the agony unnecessarily for
you and your wife. The boy's got leprosy--God alone knows how! At the
most he may live six weeks.'

"The shock, of course, was terrible. Eric had to be isolated from
everyone--even from those who loved him best--and died within a month.

"'Sahib, I knew!' Cushai said to me the day of the funeral, 'I knew some
disaster would befall you. Nahra was a wonderful man, and his curse had
to be fulfilled. You may rest assured, however, nothing further will
befall you, for I saw Nahra in a vision this morning, and he told me
both his and the white tiger's spirit were now on friendly terms, and
would trouble you no more.'

"My wife and I left the place at once, and for a long time I lived in a
hell of suspense lest she should develop the infernal disease. By a
merciful providence, however, she did no such thing, but, on the
contrary, picked up in health in the most marvellous fashion; indeed,
she only told me yesterday, she felt better than she had done for years.
I've told you the story, O'Donnell--and it is true in every
detail--because it goes a long way to substantiate your theory that
animals, as well as human beings, have a future life."

"I am absolutely sure they have!" I replied.

_Jungle Animals and Psychic Faculties_

It is, of course, impossible to say whether animals of the jungle
possess psychic faculties, without putting them to the test, and this,
for obvious reasons, is extremely difficult. But since I have found that
such properties are possessed--in varying degree--by all animals I have
tested, it seems only too probable that bears and tigers, and all beasts
of prey, are similarly endowed.

It would be interesting to experiment with a beast of prey in a haunted
locality; to observe to what extent it would be aware of the advent of
the Unknown, and to note its behaviour in the actual presence of the
phenomena.

PART III

BIRDS AND THE UNKNOWN

CHAPTER VII

BIRDS AND THE UNKNOWN

As Edgar Allan Poe has suggested in his immortal poem of "The Raven,"
there is a strong link between certain species of birds and the Unknown.

We all know that vultures, kites and crows scent dead bodies from a
great way off, but we don't all know that these and other kinds of birds
possess, in addition, the psychic property of scenting th