The Camden chronicle. (Camden, Tenn.) 1890-current, 1891-03-27
A NIGHT WITH A TIGER.
Being tho Thrilling Adventure OF
Two Bachelors in India

In entering the drawing there were
two doors this must be borne in mind.
The house itself was old-fashioned, o
large and many-gahled one, standing
quite alone and solitary in "a spacious
garden; all the windows had been closed
and the ialousies shut and secured
from theOutside; the tatty-grass blinds on
the piazza had been rolled up and put away
till another blazing morning called for their
Refreshing shade.
The locality was near that part Of the
delta called the Sunderbunds, throughwhich
the Ganges expands its branches as it APP
breaches the sea-a labyrinth Of crooks and
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 aper-
fectly natural occurrence.
Invent into the drawing-room by what may
beoalled theback door, as tiled into the back
drswing-room, and smaller one OF the two;
the other, a far larger apartment, communl-
Gated with this one by great folding doors
of gold and white The back drawlng-room
was very full Of furniture, rather incon-
Teniently SO. AS l was carrying an arm
full Of books, and in my disengaged hand
bulps-eye lGntern, proceeded with toler-
able security, though slowly, but then OF
course / knew the room, and could have
gone to nv destination in the dark. What
struck me as both curious and irritative
was the fancy that the room seemed more
Impeded than ever with the furniture, dark,
old-fashioned rosewood furniture, that nao
been made to match the grand piano. The
various articles looked as If they had been
dragged about the room. Possibly the
darkness above and around me helped the
Illusion; anyway they had the appearance
of having been gradually spread toward
the center of the room, round a heavy
and solid table. 1t was this table thatA
wished To 90 to- / walked very slowly,
aartlv because did not wish to spill the
books that I'd spent the last hour in collect
tng, 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
.Btairs. having been all day at Madreporesa nd
mo 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 70
long passages and unexpected cupooards;
the back drawing-room door itself opened
from a side flight Of five stairs. AS
I had encountered two small chairs
and an overturned music stand, i
Rtood still for o second, looking for q
clear massage and thereby holding
the lantern high and well in front Of me;
IA uaused amid the complete silence that
~eiened an immense tiger slowly crossed
the path OF light, turning on me two burn
Ding yellow eyes, cleaning like vivid to
razes. 4 stood there in stiftened terror and
heard my heart beat It's mouth was loose
Nv parted and running with saliva; so wide
was It hanging open at the corners that the
serrated edges of the lower lips were
MAINLY visible. It gazed with steadfast
look OF such grinning cruelty, such con-
.scious maliRnity, that it froze my blood and
turned my limbs to stone. This description
of sight and feeling was, OF course, the I'M.
pression of one vivid conception condensed
by minutes agony.
The tiger crossed the India mating Of
the room with nolselesS swinging BalV' ae
It appeared to have come from the obscur'
ity near the piano, so it vanished into %
security beyond--that is, outside the patn'
way Of the lantern light. stood perfect
" immoyable, still clutching the books
with my left arm, still holding the lantern
before me, still gazing at the place 1T had
crossed, and apparently forever seeing
that awful look upon the tigers broad face
II seemed as if my eyes saw the face
ahough my mind had rapidly suggested the
1rightful probability that the tiger was'be.
hina me. At the same time, by some dual
mental process, it was holding out hope
that the animal had passed through the
great folding doors into the dark room be
yond. Ihave no remembrance'at all Of my
mind debating the next action | pursued
1t seemed Just an instinct INDUCED in by
the body upon its own account and for ats
own immediate preservation.
L laid the books very carefully down with
out making the slightest unnecessary nose
or disturbing the hand that held the Ian
tern. and then raising with slow effort one
,of The heavy little chairs that blocked my
paSsas silently swung it on to my
.Ahsal .so md held II so that II coveredmJ