d screams from the natives.

"The outburst came from the mouth of the ravine, and we felt at once
that he had escaped. We hurried back to find, as we had expected, that
the tiger was gone. He had burst out suddenly from his hiding-place, had
seized a native, torn him horribly, and had made across the open plain.

"This was terribly provoking, but we had nothing to do but follow him.
This was easy enough, and we traced him to a detached patch of wood and
jungle, two miles distant. This wood was four or five hundred yards
across, and the exclamations of the people at once told us that it was
the one in which stood the ruined temple of the fakir of whom I have
been telling you. I forgot to say, that as the tiger broke out one of
the village shekarries had fired at, and, he declared, wounded him.

"It was already getting late in the afternoon, and it was hopeless to
attempt to beat the jungle that night. We therefore sent off a runner
with a note to the colonel, asking him to send the work-elephants, and
to allow a party of volunteers to march over at night, to help surround
the jungle when we commenced beating it in the morning.

"We based our request upon the fact that the tiger was a notorious
man-eater, and had been doing immense damage. We then had a talk with
our shekarry, sent a man off to bring provisions for the people out with
us, and then set them to work cutting sticks and grass to make a circle
of fires.

"We both felt much uneasiness respecting the fakir, who might be seized
at any moment by the enraged tiger. The natives would not allow that
there was any cause for fear, as the tiger would not dare to touch so
holy a man. Our belief in the respect of the tiger for sanctity was by
no means strong, and we determined to go in and warn him of the presence
of the brute in the wood. It was a mission which we could not intrust to
anyone else, for no native would have entered the jungle for untold
gold; so we mounted the Begaum again, and started. The path leading
towards the temple was pretty wide, and as we went along almost
noiselessly, for the elephant was too well trained to tread upon fallen
sticks, it was just possible we might come upon the tiger suddenly, so
we kept our rifles in readiness in our hands.

"Presently we came in sight of the ruins. No one was at first visible;
but at that very moment the fakir came out from the temple. He did not
see or hear us, for we were rather behind him and still amon