The Kimball graphic. (Kimball, Brule County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1905, 1886-05-07
I'm AT THE DEATH"

1AN ~ I'LL blIAAl Lie
There were three of us cumming to.
gether in d solitary little hole in the
jungle, not SO very far-as one counts
distancein Indla-irom Secunderabad
We were Cooper's Hill young men; and
fate and the government had given us
a chance OF distinguishing ourselves
and extinguishing our fellow creatures
by the making OF a branch railway in.
Guiding a bridge and a tunnel. Sc
there were thee OF us; and a right jol
ly time we had on the whole. Gu,
bungalow was a real work of art, GOV.
cred with creepers, by which l do not
mean to %insinuate centipedes, of which
however, there was also a goodfew, but
lessamine, plumbago climbing moss
which one of us had rescued from the
tangle OF the jungle, and coaxedto live
in a more civilized pesition-besides
many other lovely specimens. TIC
save our valuable time, we generally
addressed each other by our initials.
Mine, unfortunately, spelt M. A. G.,
to which my companions, inmoments
of hilarity, sometimes added a second
course of P. l. E. Twas the eldest oil
the trio.
W. had not been very long at our
branch-line work when l was laid low
with an exhausting attack of Jungle
fever and ague. My friends E. S. p.
and H. F. by turns nursed me with a
tenderness and care for which l can
never be sufficiently grateful. Ipulled
through, thanks to them: but since
that time, have been subject to rather
severe fits of ague, from one of which
was recovering at the time the Incl
dent happened l wish to tell you about.
1t had been an absolutely broiline
day, and we had been driven to the
verge of insanity between the heat and
the flies. We were reclining after our
days work, on our basket sofas, on
the veranda, in the cool ofthe evening,
putting away solemnly and silently at
u brier-root pipes, when it suddenly
struck us that a groupofnative work
men,. who were experimenting the
cooking OF their evening meal in a cor
ner OF our very improvised SORT OF
compound, must have received some
exciting intelligence. Being young and
sportively inclined, we were all three
fellows OF one idea, and that idea. was
''tigers."
Gust call to that gaping fool and
ask him what's up" Suggested 1, in a
washed-out voice.
est. John!" shouted E. S. P, whose
voice carried farther than either OF
ours, clapping his hands loudly at the
same time, to attract the attention
of the cabling group, and up came the
tallest, thinnest native to be met in a
very long days ride. We had christ
ened this man EST. john" first, be-
cause he wore the most fearfully and
wonderfully made camel's hair gar
ment that civilized eyes ever looked
upon, and secondly, because he was
so desperately lean and lank, we were
certain that he must feed on either
locusts or grasshoppers; which are
both supposed to be q very anti
fat diet.
Up, then, came this mysterious
coolie, and with many salaams, much
ge%sticulation and showing the whites
of his eyes, he informed us that there
was a most b~loodthirsty man-eater
lurking in the neighborhood, close by,
at our very door! Hooked nervous
ly round, not enjoying the idea of be-
ing caught by Monsieur Maneater
armed only with a brierwood pipe. E.
and H. at once appeared to be seized
with st. Vitus's dance so absurdly and
Historically active had they suddenly
become.
"Where was he last SEEM" Glow
large was he?" "What village was
the scene of his last meal?' Glow
many people was he known to have
eaten?" "Who brought the news?"
''Send him up to be questioned"
st. John went away, and in q few
minutes reappeared, accompanied by
a native postman, who, it seemed,
knowing that the railway Sahibs were
partial to tiger, had kindly dropped
in with the intelligence. Wefoundo OUT
all we could from the man and re-
warded him with some money and to.
bacco.
The last victim was a poor native
woman, who had crept into the cor
ner OF the veranda ola bungalow some
miles away and fallen asleep, from
which, poor soul, she was roughly
awakened, and then half carried, half
dragged to a clunp of thick Jungle
grass and bushes about two and a
half miles from where we were. The
postman's eyes and teeth glistened
with sympathetic pleasure as he saw
how keen and eager the other two fell
lows were to be after the brute. Twas
out OF it altogether, as l could not
trust my shaky hands with O rifle in
such a case of life or death, SO / look
ed on and listened to all their sus-
gestions and arrangements with the
deepest interest.
"That poor old bag of bones is not
likely to have afforded him much of q
gorge" said H. "He may turn up
OF our veranda tonight, boys, to see
if he can find some light refreshment
here"
"He will get some black pepper,
which may not agree with him." said
E, S. P, who had gone into what we
called Il armory and drought out his
rifle, which he begantocl clean and make
ready for very active service.
By this time darkness had closed in
round US, with that small respect for
twilight which 30 bothers the enter
prising traveller in foreign lands. The
servants and workmen had dispersed
to their various habitations, and our
white headed native factotum was
standing before us announcing dinner.
"Hush!', said H., putting his finger
mp in y commanding way andlistening
intently. Didn't either OF you hear
something leap over the wallg'"
.Oh, bother your imagination-Pm