ascertaining whether it would be practicable to employ elephants, they were mustered for the campaign. However, after getting over several very dangerous passes, it became necessary to relinquish the attempt. It became now certain that, unless a tiger could be decoyed into the plains, there could be no chance for the sportsmen with elephants. This, however, proved a forlorn hope. The tigers, as if perfectly aware of the security of their position, never quitted the hills during the day, stealing down to the water below only amid the silence and darkness of the night. It became, therefore, a matter of certainty that the attack, if made at all, must be made long after daylight had departed. A morning's tour round a neighbouring lake added to this conviction; for the inspector observed some fresh tracks of tigers, and on inquiring among the villagers, was told that he might meet with tigers any night that he chose to look for them round Kalingur, the name of the lake in question. From that moment he resolved on trying the effect of nocturnal excursions; but the method of proceeding puzzled him not a little. Upon such occasions, a platform is usually constructed in a tree; but here were no trees, no bushes, nor even a blade of grass to afford shelter and concealment, the ground round about being perfectly bare and arid. What was therefore to be done? The

sportsman must either plant himself upon this exposed plain, or get no tiger. The idea of encountering a tiger on foot, with the odds so much in favour of the quadruped, at the dreary hour of night, was rather appalling, and our enterprising friend hesitated; but he could not resolve to abandon the project, the same spirit which animated the chivalry of the olden time urging him to the conflict. He was a first-rate shot, and, should his nerves not fail him, he felt certain that the ball would tell; but as they had never been so severely tried before, there was no saying whether they would abide the test.

The attempt was, however, to be made; and the resolution once taken, he never swerved from it. The lake already named lay at the distance of six miles from the sportsman's bungalow. The road to it being through a heavy jungle, it was necessary, in order to reach it in proper time, a little after sunset, to make an early departure. A young Mussulman servant, a mere lad, who was fortunately not very easily daunted, carried the ammunition, and shared in the vigil. The first excursion was made in the month of April, after a parching day of hot winds. The sportsman chose his position with all the advantages that circumstances would admit; he fronted the hills, with his back towards the lake, which prevented any attack in the rear, and would afford a place of re

treat in case of necessity, a rush into the water being the last On the first night, the vigil was uninterrupted, at least by a tiger; other animals came down to drink, but they were suffered to pass unmolested. The situation had been rather a nervous one, and the return of the morning was hailed with proportionate delight. A few evenings subsequently, the sportsman was again at his post; he had now become familiar with the scene and the danger, and experienced the composure which results from feeling, as it were, at home the strangeness at least had worn off.

The hour for the moon's rising was ten; and not expecting to be called into action before it made its appearance, the sentinel had scarcely braced his energies to the task, when, a little after dusk, he plainly perceived some large animal approaching the water. Upon reaching it, it stopped, apparently to drink. What a moment! how inadequate are words to express the sensations crowding upon the adventurer's heart, and how impossible to imagine them by those who have never been placed in a situation of similar peril! A deadly silence prevailed, not even a whisper passing between the officer and his almost breathless attendant. Grasping the faithful rifle firmly, he placed the finger on the trigger, ready to deliver the deadly charge. Who shall say what passed in the breast of

the person thus fearfully placed? What worlds he might not have given for a change of situation! Yet was the excitement even at that moment mingled with a strange kind of delight! Many seconds were not allowed for reflection, for it soon became necessary to act. There was a possibility that the animal taken for a tiger might only be one of the elk species; but the worst must be prepared for, and that speedily. After the animal had refreshed himself at the lake, he appeared to be moving in the direction of the sportsman; but as the evening had considerably advanced, he could not at first distinguish clearly: a very brief interval, however, sufficed to assure him of the truth of the conjecture. Twice the gun was brought up to the position of firing, and twice, in the excited state of the imagination, the marksman fancied he heard a voice whisper, 'Not yet-not yet.' He obeyed the warning, if such it were. In another moment the animal appeared to have changed his direction. It had approached within a dozen yards, and for the last time the gun was raised, aimed steadily at the centre of the moving mass, and without the slightest hesitation, fired. For the first time since the appearance of the game, silence was now broken by the attendant, who exclaimed, 'A large tiger, sir!' Inquiring how he could be certain of the description of the animal, he observed

that, from the flash in the pan, the gun having a flint, he had plainly seen the tiger; and so, to his master's great delight, it proved; for upon the rising of the moon, the tawny monarch was seen pinned down upon the very spot which he had occupied at the discharge of the fatal shot. This exploit was duly appreciated by the neighbouring villagers; and the fallen foe, securely padded on an elephant, made the round of the European dwellings on the following morning, in a sort of triumph or ovation. With confidence, strengthened by good fortune, other attempts were made upon the same spot, and with equal success.

In the vicinity of a neighbouring village, called Manpoora, which was situated in a small valley surrounded with hills and thick jungle, dwelt in solitary grandeur a monster of a tiger, who had become as well known as the village itself, and who had for several years past been permitted to remain undisturbed, in consequence of his having baffled every effort made by parties who had at different times gone out against him. Thus left to himself, he had continued his depredations with impunity, and had become the terror of the inhabitants for many miles round. To bag this fellow, as it is termed in sporting phrase, was now the ruling desire of our hero's heart, not only on account of the report which described him as

being an enormous beast, but more especially from the circumstance of his having hitherto bade defiance to those sportsmen who had sought him in the field, vanity being mingled with that noble emulation necessary to the performance of great deeds. Near to the village above described runs a beautiful little hill stream, shallow, but clear as crystal, and a place very likely to be chosen for the nightly promenades of the monarch of the waste. The villagers agreeing in this opinion, the young adventurer lost no time in looking out for a convenient position. The people of Manpoora, interested in the issue of the enterprise, and satisfied, after the death of the Kalingur tiger, that the person who performed that notable exploit was equal to a second of the same nature, often gave notice of the movements of the animal; but some time elapsed before the tiger's plan of operations could be fully made out. Three or four nights were passed on the banks of the Manpoora water without success; for, though it was ascertained that the tiger had been either prowling above or below the scene of the vigil, he did not show himself; and tired out with these fruitless attempts, the sportsman reluctantly relinquished his visits.

One afternoon, however, three villagers, in breathless haste, appeared at the European station. They had run fast and far, and could scarcely, after holding up

their hands and beckoning the sportsman, who happened to be riding in a contrary direction, to stop, relate the cause of their hurry and anxiety. At last they exclaimed, 'The Manpoora tiger has come!' which was all that could at first be made out. Afterwards they explained that a cow had been killed, and that a watch kept on this night would be pretty certainly successful. No time was lost in preparing for the expedition, and evening found our friend again at the valley of Manpoora. The peasants immediately accompanied their visitor to the scene of the sacrifice. There lay the cow; and two men who had watched the whole proceeding from the neighbouring trees, reported that the tiger, after a copious draught of pure blood, had retreated to the hills, doubtless to return in the evening to make a more solid meal. An examination of the carcase proved the truth of this information; the cow had been freshly killed, and was as yet uninjured, save by the wounds which had caused its death. The disappearance of the tiger was not at all disheartening, it being the custom of the animal to leave its prey for a while, knowing it to be perfectly safe. It is seldom that the inferior denizens of the wild venture to attack a carcase brought down by a tiger, until he has gorged his fill. The jackals and vultures draw silently around, waiting their turn, after the sovereign

has completed his repast; and should they neglect this mark of respect, they are made to pay dearly for the omission. Sportsmen, on coming on the remains of a slaughtered animal, have sometimes seen vultures lying dead upon it, killed by a stroke from the tiger's claw. The spot on which the cow was lying was exceedingly jungly, and ill calculated for the adventurer's purpose; but after the different attempts that had been made, and the watching and anxiety already undergone, though a most unsatisfactory place for a night abode, the young man determined to take up his quarters on it. The carcase of the cow was moved by his directions to a more promising spot, and close to one of the extremities, a slight ambuscade of thorns was thrown up to conceal the adversary from view. The Mussulman lad before mentioned remained staunch by the side of his master, and one of the villagers asked and obtained permission to join the party.

Towards dusk the position was taken up, the officer placing himself in front, close up to the tail of the cow, and the two natives back to back in the rear, by which plan a look-out on all sides was effected. The night set in with the most profound darkness imaginable, conveying a sense of horror to the mind which it is impossible to describe, and producing an impression which was strongly cal