ed by the same
impulse, we ceased troubling about the fire, and stood with hand on
trigger, ready to pull at the first chance.

Then all at once there was a vivid tongue of flame cutting right through
the thick smoke, another and another, and I uttered a sigh of relief as
the heap of smouldering boughs and leaves burst once more into a blaze.

"Now while the light lasts let's have a good shot at the brute," said
the doctor, speaking as if nerved to desperation by the torture under
which we both writhed. "I'm going to kneel here, Joe; you walk on, and
that will make the tiger, or whatever it is, show itself in watching
you."

"It isn't a tiger," I whispered. "I caught sight of it, and it looked
more like a man."

The doctor gave me a quick look, and then said sharply, "Go on!"

I obeyed him, walking backwards round the fire, my piece ready, so as to
get a shot if I saw the creature again; but this time all remained
perfectly still, and though I went right round the fire, no sound came
from among the trees.

"Take a piece of burning wood and throw it opposite to where you stand,
Joe."

I did so, and the blazing wood described an arc, fell in a tuft of dry
undergrowth which burst out into a vivid column of light for a few
minutes and died out, but there was no charge, no roar from our enemy,
not even the rustling of the bushes as it passed through.

"It's very strange, Joe," whispered the doctor. "Pile on more wood."

I obeyed him, and this time it caught directly and there was a
tremendous blaze, but no attack followed; and we stood listening for
some sound of the enemy in vain.

"You must have shot it," I said, speaking with some confidence.

"Or else you did, Joe," said the doctor.

I shook my head, and we remained listening for quite a quarter of an
hour, but still in vain. The silence in the forest was now awful, and
though we strained our eyes till the fire across which we looked dazzled
them, we could see nothing to cause alarm.

"Either it's dead or it has gone off, scared by our fire," said the
doctor at last. And now that we found time to think, he continued, with
a smile, "I hope we are not going to have many such night-watches as
this on our expedition. I say though, my lad, how some people can
sleep! I should have thought that those howls would have wakened
anything. Why, hallo! Gyp, didn't you hear anything? Where's your
master?"

He stooped and patted the dog, which came trotting