Waterbury evening Democrat., 1889-05-14
THE WATERBURY EVENING DEMOCRAT TUESDAY, MAY A. 1889

wondering which room the tiger was in. Then got up with a sudden alacrity, took from it's case ] large revolver, and turned into the pass age again. Tn 8 minute or so l was in Godfrey's room. He was half dressed. "What's the matters'' he demand ed, with startled eyes. When 1 had told him he took my hand and wrung it. 'sYou may thank God that you are alive, old fel- low" Then he dressed hurriedly, took a heavy rifle from rack, filled his pock- cts with cart ridges. sCome along; stay, let me go first: your nerves are a bit shaky yet.'
 We crept out and awakened the punxah- wallah, an old and faithful Hindu, whom my brother once nursed during a dangerous illness-a brave, reliable and trustworthy man, who would have laid his life down for Godfrey.
 "It is the man eater!" said the Hindu, fter my recital. "Will the sahib let his servant advise hims''
 "Yes, Rance; tell me your plan.''
 As the Hindu rapidly unfolded it my brother smiled dubiously at the strange idea.
 Cunning must be met with cunning," said the Hindu.
 "It'n take three hours to arrange" re- marked.
 "Three hours will bring the dawn; now, who can see in the dark; not the Sahib, but
 
 yes, the tiger.n
 "Very well,'' said Godfrey. Let's set about it at once" From the gardeners outhouse we brought roll of wire netting that had been put there for fencing in paddock a few days previously. Together we collected armsful of shavings the work men had lot cleared away, quantities of dried leaves, rags, every thing we could find soft and pliable; and having cut the wire into three square lengths firmly lashed them together, one over the other. When completed it was the shape, but rather larger than the window in the room in which the tiger lay hidden and the doors of which had been locked. Our operations so far had been conducted upon the verandah outside, near the gardeners room; we then rolled up the wire netting and carried it round the corner of the house to within few yards of the big window; here it was unrolled again and flattened out, then upon it's surface we poured all the shavings, rags, leaves and the refuse we had collected, and upon this mass smeared and spread a quantity of lime left by the workmen for the morrow. This we smoothed down as well as we were able till the whole mass assumed some consistency and clung to the interstices of the netting. Rance next took some stout twine and i'm provised rough kind of needle from
  sewed all over the mass of stuff, thus mak- ing a string netting that helped to keep the composition in it's place. So far,.. so good the most difficult operation yet re mained.
 ''Take my gun," said Godfrey to me, land give me the revolver"
 He pushed the revolver in his belt, laid hold of one end of the netting, and threw off his shoes. With slow and noiseless step the netting, looking very like large mat tress, was carried exactly opposite the window and laid gently down; then both retired as silently as they had advanced.
 Rance then brought from the outhouse ladder, and with a gesture of entreaty signed to my brother to stand aside and take his rife ill his hand. With bare feet the Hindu crept up to the window agam and reared the ladder against the wall. Taking a coil of rope from his neck, he deftly fastened it to the highest wall staple Of the outside shutter. Descending, he quick ly enlaced the short strand in the netting, placed the ladder on the other side, and ran the thong through the other staple. For the first tune he made a noise, but it was unavoidable, and was caused by the net ting being drawn upward till it hung like great curtain covering the shutter and hid. ing the window from us
 Godfrey and stood ready to fire.
 The Hindu, perspiring at every pore, de- scended the ladder, which he lowered and placed horizontally on the window sill, and lashed it to the bottom of the netting, and again fastened that to the two lower staples on either side.
 The thing was done; far away in the east the dawn was breaking, above which the morning star was slowly paling his silver fire.
 "But, Rance, the shutters are still fast. enedr'
 "Sahib l unfastened them; they are open as the breadth of mans hand ; presently the light will stream through"
 "Quick! fetch another riae!''
 When he returned took the gun and gave him my revolver.
 A light breath of wlnd passed murmurinR through the feathery crowns of the slender cocoa palms, two great spears of light shot up in the sky, somewhere in the garden bird sang; the sun had risen. 'sWait the signal" whispered my brother; "now, Rance" The Hindu knelt down and imi. tated the bleating of a kid that had lost its mother At the instant Rance sprang to his feet the silence was rent by 8 sundering crash and a sudden terrific roar; the shut ters were torn from their sockets; great mass hurled itself precipitately through the window, and the tiger with it's head and shoulders buried Tn the lime-covered debris, was grappling in maddened fury with an enemy he could not see nor make much i'm pression upon.
 Our guns were at our shoulders.
 The animal was twenty feet from us, tearing up the graveled path and coiling it. self in inextricable confusion in the broken netting and splintered ladder. Rance ut tered a loud cry. The animal had freed it's head, and stood with it's bleeding mouth in an enforced and listening attitude. It was the mement Godfrey had waited for, and he fred The tiger, evidently not seeing him, sprang at the window again, but missed the opening, hurling himself against the wall and falling on the broken shutters At the minute it alighted 1 aimed at the spot behind the shoulder and fired; it gave convulsive leap and turned it's bloodshot eyes in our direction. Then Godfrey fired again and told me to do the same. ."Back! back!' cried Rance.
 The animal had gathered itself together and sprang forward with one mighty bound, and rolled over with scream of dying rage.
 When we came to measure the brute afterward we found it was fifteen feet from the nose to the tip of the tail-Charles