The Londonderry sifter. (South Londonderry, Vt.) 1883-19??, 1885-02-19


was, as my comrade said in my ear,
''overdue"-we were speedily aloft and
safely perched in the hollow of deep
fork commanding good view of the
dead heifer. Our rifles loaded and ar
ranged, we proceeded to brace our
nerves to an iron clad calm, while en-
joying the contrast of bright white
light and deep shadows on the plateau
before our eyes. But the suspense of
waiting soon became very hard to bear
every rustic in the jungle, every
chirrup of cricket, made us grip our
guns under the impression that the en-
emy was at hand. Royalty, however,
at home, is not to be hurried, and the
beast took his time. The delightful
quietness Of the evening was broken
only by the familiar voices of the for
est, grown so common to our sense of
hearing that they were now hardly
perceptible. Every twig had its hum
ming night-perfo;mer, every blade of
grass or loose stone was an orchestra
for chorus of winged insect musicians
adding to the general murmuring
Now and again the black monkeys in
sal tree in the valley below appeared
troubled by dreadfully bad dreams Of
wandering panthers or gliding snakes,
and disturbed the universal peace by a
sudden chorus of barking. Overhead
the leaves made fairy tracery against
the purple vault of heaven spangled
with glittering consultations, aud a
shooting star flashed occasionally
across the vault, dragging after it
pale streamer of saffron light.
Suddenly the cold, black, nervous
fingers of the shikaree frightened on
my arm, and 1 could feel his agitation,
though he was invisible, for at this
moment the moon went behind fleet
Of light, feecy clouds sailing up from
the westward before the faint midnight
wind. My own hands closed on my
rifle, while eyes and ears were strained
Intellectually to see or hear anything
in the gloom. and heart and breathing
were kept under close control to pre-
vent the possibility of any sound es-
Gaping. How long this tension was
preserved it is difficult to say; but in
perhaps forty seconds the windward
edge of the cloud shrouding the moon
turned silvery with light, and another
second or'two saw the great shield of
silver ride out triumphantly into space.
Instantly all eyes were turned to the
"kill" at our feet, and there, his ap-
proach unannounced by the cracking
of a single twig or the displacement of
one pebble, stood our quarry, his royal
livery of striped gold and black show
lug with wonderful richness in the
clear glimmer of the stars; one mon
strous paw planted firmly on the swell
ing flank of the dead kline, and the i'm.
perial jowl already at work "nuzzling'
under the creatures body for the
trickle of blood yet yelling from the
ugly gashes in its neck. Then the
royal beast, giving way to his appetite
tore long goblet of flesh from the
shoulder, and was settling himself
down to comfortable evenings re.
past. But he never said grace after
that meal! saw my friends rifle &C
up to his shoulder as the tiger turned
his broadslde for a moment. and the
next tongue of fame leaped forth
and the sharp crack of the rife hushe(
every wild thing in the forest, whil'
its own echoes rolled away among the
distant hills to light and left
1t was clearly hit, for we noticed
the bullet plump on the mark ant
heard the short, sharp, angry grow
which responded like an echo to tn
shot, and when the smoke drifted of
through the branches we perceived
stripes" limping away badly wounded
in the direction of a nullh or dec
water-course thirty yards over tn
dead grass. Into this he was hasten
ing just as l got good sight upo1
him. and my ball, taking him in tn
back, made him leap high in the al
, and plunge. apparently dead, into tn
corinda bushes. My companion-eve
, impetuous-was down to the groun
and running after him quick a
: thought. Following, but keeping
, steady finger on the trigger to NEE
, any charge of the enemy--for nothin
is more dangerous than badl
, wounded tiger-I was at the brink a
, most as soon as my comrade. "Wher
t is hep" was then the question, and fo
I a moment we were uncertain; but tw
a stones thrown into patch of dwal
= bamboo elected feeble stir and
faint waugh! waugh" from the tige
: who actually endeavored to crawl
o at us, stumbling across the streal
Y bed. Our rifles were on him as
v made feeble spring at the bank c
r which we stood, but he could. as v
g saw, do nothing, and, scratching inc
II fectively at the dry bushes on top, fe
+ back. 1t was now really pitiful to s.
h the royal beast in his furious helples
ness. He lay writhing for space {
It a neck of smooth, sparkling san
le whining and moaning in savage tone
ID our barrels always covering hil
l..