Evening capital journal. (Salem, Or.) 1888-1893, 1889-05-01
A NIGHT WITH A TIGER.
Being the Thrilling Adventure or
Two Bachelors in India.

In entering the drawing-room there wer'
two doors this must be boone in mind.
The house itself was old-fashioned,
large and many-gabled one, standing
quite alone and solitary in a spacious
garden; all the windows had been closec
and the jalousies shut and secured
from the outside; the tatty-grass blinds on
the piazza had been rolled up and put away
till another blazing morning called Tor theli
refreshing shade.
The locality was near that part OF the
delta called the Sunderbunds, through which
the Ganges expands its branches as II ap'
proaches the sea-a labyrinth OF crooks ana
rivers, of jungle and stagnant water The
night was perfectly fine, but moonless;
there was heavy dew rapidly falling, like
misty rain, which in hot countries is per
| fectly natural occurrence.
! Invent into the drawing by what may
be called the back door, as it led into the back
drawing room and smaller one of the two;
the other, far larger apartment, communl-
Gated with this one by great folding doors
of gold and white. The back drawing room
was very full of furniture, rather lncon-
veniently so AS / was carrying an arm
full of books, and in my disengaged hand a
bull's-eye lantern, | proceeded with toler-
able security, though slowly, but then OF
course | knew the room, and could have
gone to my destination in the dark What
struck me as both curious and irrltatve
was the fancy that the room seemed more
impedcd than ever with the furniture, dark,
old fashioned rosewood furniture, that had
been made to match the grand piano. The
various articles looked as if they had been
dragged about the room. Possibly the
hall hn
illusion; anyway they had the appearance
OF having been gradually spread toward
the center of the room, round heavy
and solid table. 1t was this table that
wished to go to. l walked very slowly,
partly because did not wish to spill the
books that I'd spent the last hour in collect
ing, and partly because OF an unaccount-
ably horrible feeling that had come over me.
This part of the house was quite silent; in
deed it was often so of an evening. My
brother had passed me on his way up
stairs, having been all day at Madrepore, and
no doubt being tired had gone to bed There |
were very few stairs at all, as the house |
was practically one-storied one, rambling |
and full of angles, having been built and |
added to at various times; hero and there
little staircases streamed out leading to
long passages and unexpected cupboards;
the back drawing-room door itself opened |
from side flight of five stairs. AS
| had encountered two small chairs
and an overturned music stand,
stood still for second, looking for
clear passage and thereby holding
the lantern high and well in front of me;
rs paused amid the complete silence that
rclgned an immense tiger slowly crossed
The path of light, turning on me two burn
ng yellow eyes, cleaning like vivid to-
PAGES. l stood there in stiffened terror and
heard my heart beat. Its mouth was loose
y parted and running with saliva; so wide
was 1t hanging open at the corners that the
ierrated edges OF the lower lips were
plainly visible. II gazed with steadfast
ook of such grinning cruelty, such con.
cious malignity, that 1t froze my blood and
urned my limbs to stone. This description
n sight and feeling was, OF course, the i'm
'ression of one vivid conception condensed .
" minutes agony,
The tiger crossed the India mating OF
he room with noiseless swinging gait; as
appeared to havc come from the obscur-
iy near the piano, so it vanished into OBJ !
curity beyond-that is, outside the path. +,
'ay or the lantern light. l stood perfect ,
immovable, still clutching the books
MN my left arm, still holding the lantern ;
elore me- stlll gazing at the place 1t had |
rossed, aud apparently forever seeing !
lat awful look upon the tigers bread face l
seemed as II my eyes saw the face,
lough my mind had rapidly suggested the
lghtful probability that the tiger was be- !,
lna me- AT the same time, by some dual h
ehtal process, II was holding out hope =,
lat tue animal had passed through the
a int 81,
lnd. have no remembrance at all Of my /,
lnd debating the next action | pursued; Il
seemed just an instinct INDUCED in by =,
10 body upon its own account and for its !,
vn Immediate preservation. ~
| laid the books very carefully down with. :,
II making the slightest unnecessary noise :,
disturbing the hand that held the Ian. ~
rn, ana then raising with slow effort one
the heavy little chairs that blocked my
'Ssage, l silently swung IT on to my
oulders and held il so that it covered nv "
adj then turned slowly sldewise with nv W
nd impressed with the necessity OF keen of
my lantern as far as possible behind
This struck me at the time as CLEVER
d OF unquestionable Importance IN saw. 10
my hte l managed TO walk gently NJ
OF the room, | suppose had been i'm ca
q minutes, but It seemed like n weary ut
ur ii,
rs closed the door and locked il NV 10y
l'her unexpectedly came down the pas. cu
&c and passed me on the little stairs; be W
5 rather IN hurry ha
uodIrey,' called after him, "do YOU he
nu Puu'hg the iront door 10 IN the large clI
'"lhs' rVo3n as YOU go byW II seems les
anSe now, but could think OF nothing on
to say then, and l SAID il slowly and mn.
10 naturally. str
'e asSen'ed and disappeared, and l. with. ic,
noticing Il al the time, took in the chair IA,
I'M aud with my lantern ascended The ,r
~ nlg6, Of stairs, and proceeded along
pSssssse TO my own room. walking SLOW. f,r
'"u AuArdedly, The mind had evidently ,..t
y 50 sA@'Aed thai IL had not recovered ~
dominant sway over the body. Un,p 80
1ens my own room I put the chair
stelly down and eat upon IL The Ian. :
bad placed on the table Al the sane