t regard for himself, we were not sufficiently acquainted with his
moral character to answer for his strict truthfulness. As to the main
event, there was no denying that. The thing happened thus:--

Towards the afternoon of that same day the travellers began to wake up,
stretch themselves, and think about supper. In the course of
conversation it transpired that a tiger had been prowling about the
village for some days, and had hitherto successfully eluded all attempts
to trap or spear it. They had tethered a goat several times near a small
pond and watched the spot from safe positions among the trees, with
spears, bows and arrows, and blow-pipes ready, but when they watched,
the tiger did not come, and when they failed to watch, the tiger did
come and carried off the goat. Thus they had been baffled.

"Mine frond," said the professor to the hermit on hearing this. "I vill
shot zat tiger! I am resolved. Vill you ask zee chief to show me zee
place ant zen tell his people, on pain of def, not to go near it all
night, for if zey do I vill certainly shot zem--by accident of course!"

The hermit did as he was bid, but advised his sanguine friend against
exposing himself recklessly. The chief willingly fell in with his
wishes.

"Won't you tell us what you intend to do, professor?" asked Nigel, "and
let us help you."

"No, I vill do it all by mineself--or die! I vill vant a shofel or a
spade of some sort."

The chief provided the required implement, conducted his visitor a
little before sunset to the spot, just outside the village, and left him
there armed with his rifle, a revolver, and a long knife or kriss,
besides the spade.

When alone, the bold man put off his glasses, made a careful inspection
of the ground, came to a conclusion--founded on scientific data no
doubt--as to the probable spot whence the tiger would issue from the
jungle when about to seize the goat, and, just opposite that spot, on
the face of a slope about ten yards from the goat, he dug a hole deep
enough to contain his own person. The soil was sandy easy to dig, and
quite dry. It was growing dusk when the professor crept into this
rifle-pit, drew his weapons and the spade in after him, and closed the
mouth of the pit with moist earth, leaving only a very small eye-hole
through which he could see the goat standing innocently by the brink of
the pool.

"Now," said he, as he lay resting on his elbows with the rifle laid
ready to hand and the revol