took any notice of him. Violet gazed fondly at Wargrave.

"I owe you so much, Frank, so very much," she murmured in a low voice.
"You've made my life worth living; and now you make me live."

He was embarrassed but he pressed the hands he held in his. Then he
released them and tried to speak lightly.

"Shall I have the _mugger_ skinned and get a dressing-bag made out of
his hide for you?" he said, smiling. "That'd be a nice souvenir of the
brute."

She shuddered.

"I don't want to remember him," she cried, turning to glance at the
crocodile. "Horrid beast! I can't bear the sight of him."

The _mugger_ certainly looked a most repulsive brute as it lay stretched
on the ground, its jaws occasionally opening and shutting spasmodically,
the blood from its wounded throat spreading in a pool on the sun-baked
earth. It was evidently an old beast; and skull and back were covered
with thick horny plates and bosses through which no bullet could
penetrate. The big teeth studded irregularly in the cruel jaws were
yellow and worn, as were the thick nails tipping the claws at the ends
of the powerful limbs.

"The devil's not dead yet. Shall I put another bullet into him?" said
Wargrave.

"It's only wasting a cartridge," replied his friend. "He can't do any
more harm. When the men come we'll have him cut open and see what he's
got inside him."

Violet shuddered.

"Oh, do you think he has ever eaten any human being?" she asked, gazing
with loathing at the huge reptile.

"Judging from the way he stalked you I should think he has," answered
Raymond. "Hullo! here comes one of the camel-drivers with some of the
villagers. They'll be able to tell us about him."

On the rim of the basin appeared a group of natives moving in their
direction. Suddenly they caught sight of the crocodile, stopped and
pointed to it and began to talk excitedly. One of the local peasants ran
back shouting. The rest hurried down for a closer view of the reptile. A
chorus of wonder rose from them as they stood round it. The Mahommedan
camel-driver exclaimed in Hindustani:

"_Ahre, bhai! Kiya janwar! Pukka shaitan!_ (Ah, brother! What an animal!
A veritable devil!)"

As the villagers spoke only the dialect of the State, Raymond used this
man as interpreter and questioned them about the crocodile. They
asserted that it had inhabited the tank for many years--hundreds, said
one man. It had, to their certain knowledge, killed several women
incautiously b