bushes nearest them was parted stealthily and a tiger slunk
cautiously out in the bottom of the ravine.

Wargrave's rifle went up to his shoulder; and he fired. A startled roar
from the beast told that it was hit; but it bounded in a flash across
the ravine and up the steep bank on their side not forty yards from
them. As it scrambled swiftly over the edge it caught sight of the
elephant and with a deep "wough!" charged straight at it.

Frank fired again, and his bullet struck up the dust, missing the
swift-rushing animal by a couple of feet. The next moment with a roar
the tiger sprang at the elephant. With one leap it landed with its hind
paws on the elephant's head, its fore-feet on the front rail of the
_howdah_, standing right over the _mahout_ who crouched in terror on the
neck. The savage, snarling, yellow-and-black mask was thrust almost
into Wargrave's face, and from the open red mouth lined with fierce
white fangs he could feel the hot breath on his cheek as he tugged
frantically at the under-lever of his rifle to open the breech and
re-load. In another moment the tiger would have been on top of them in
the _howdah_ when a gun-barrel shot past the subaltern and pushed him
aside. The muzzle of Muriel's rifle was pressed almost against the
brute's skull as she fired.

Frank hardly heard the report. All he knew was that the snarling face
disappeared as quickly as it had come. The whole thing was an affair of
seconds. Shot through the brain the tiger dropped back to the ground
with a heavy thud and fell dead beside the staunch elephant which had
never moved all through the terrible ordeal.

A cry of relief and a prayer to Allah burst from the grey-bearded
Mahommedan _mahout_, as he straightened himself; and Wargrave turned
with glowing face and outstretched hand to the girl.

"Oh, well done! Splendidly done!" he cried. "You saved me from being
lugged bodily out of the _howdah_ or at least from being mauled. This
lever jammed and I couldn't re-load."

Her eyes shining and face beaming with excitement she shook his hand.

"Wasn't it thrilling? I thought he'd have got both of us." Then to the
_mahout_ she continued in Urdu, "Gul Dad, are you hurt?"

The man was solemnly feeling himself all over. He stared at a rent in
the shoulder of his coat, torn by the tiger's claw. It was the only
injury that he had suffered. He put his finger on it and grumbled:

"Missie-_baba_, the _shaitan_ (devil) has torn my coat."