The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1893-09-29
miscellaneous.
AMPLE SATISFACTION.
Youths Companion.

|
Youths Companion.
Frank Maitland, when he came out
to join my regiment in India, was only
seventeen years old-perhaps the
youngest ensign then in the British
Army-though he stood six feet high
and was very strong and athletic.
From the first he was one of the
steadiest men in the service, though
he loved fun as we'll as any of the
young scatterbrains whose escapades
| kept them continually in trouble. A
cool old head was on Master Franks
young shoulders, and resolute heart
beneath his waistcoat, as he soon had
occasion to prove.
| About week after he joined, Cap
tain Smythe, the regimental bully,
was laying down the law in his usual
dictatorial way about disputed point
| of tactics, when some one asked
| Franks opinion ON the matter.
| He gave it modestly against Symthe,
| and as he was fresh from the military
| college at Sandhurst, was able to show
| that he was right. Smythe lost his
| temperate had been drinking a good
deal, -insulted the boy grossly, and
| even advanced against him with
| threatening gesture. In self-defence
| Frank knocked Smythe down.
| Next day Captain Smythe chal
lenged Frank, but duelling had been
| forbidden, and the young fellow re-
fused Then Frank went Oh to de-
| mand court of inquiry, which exon
| Grated him and ordered Smythe to
apologize. He did it because he had
to do it or resign, but he did it chur-
lishly.
| After that the two were not on speak
| ing terms for some months, though
| Frank was too generous to cherish
luminosity.
The incidents that brought them to
speaking terms again were as suspris-
| ing as any | remember in the annals
of tigershooting.
| One day a venerable old native came
into our hunting camp among the
Gurrachee Hills, and reported that
| his village, about eight miles distant,
was being devastated by a pair of
large tigers. They had already killed
seven persons and an nEnowl num-
Der of cattle. Would the sahibs come
and kill the tigers?
| Come! Of course we would come,
| though tiger hunting on foot is dan
gerous work. But as elephants could
not be procured within a week, we
| determined to take the field without
them.
Retaining the old native to act as
| guide, we made ready that evening,
and next morning, long before day
| light, our whole party, ten in number,
| took to the road in big four-horse
carryall which we had brought with
us from headquarters.
AS we drove along through the still
morning air, Frank Maitland, who
had never seen tiger outside of a
menagerie, showed more excitement
and enthusiasm than usual, which
| provoked Smythe to say to his COM
panion ON the back seat,
| Il think i shall have some satisfac-
ton to-day in watching our ensign's
mettle.h
you'll find his mettle good mettle, -
said the other.
He's going to funk-see how excit-
ed he is p whispered Smythe.
| Excited with pleasure. He will be
cool enough in danger"
| Smythe shrugged his shoulders in
credulously, but did not answer.
The sun had no more than risen
when we arrived at the village, a
group of bamboo huts about half a
mile from the baree or tree jungle in
which The tigers were said to lurk.-
Nearly all the men of the village, arm
ed mostly with useless weapons, turn
ed out to act at beaters. The tigers,
they said, had killed and eaten a
large bullock the night before, so that
they might be expected to lie gorged
all day in close cover.
We distributed among the natives
a lot of handgrenades, and then our
whole force, about sixty men, moved
off to the jungle.
One glance at it showed that ele-
plants could not have penetrated the
thicket Indeed it was difficult tC
imagine how even the 1.-the, slim ma
tives were to find way into this fear
full place.
1t was about three hundred acres
in extent and densely covered with
wild fig, cotton, cork, peepul and Other
trees all interlaced with gigantic
creepers and prickly, clinging tendrils
twined and twisted, from the ground
I'D. into fantastic mass of rank vege
tation seemingly impervious to any
living thing. Yet we knew that its
dark recesses teemed with noXious
and venomous life.
On the advice of the head man, we
ten Europeans took stations about
one hundred yards apart along one
edge of the baree while the native:
We're to enter from the other side and
if possible. drive the tigers out.
Ii the jungle had been an open one
nothing could have induced the mel
to undertake the task ; but as tigers
do not climb trees, these would Away
furnish means of escape N case o.
need.
Each of the beaters, in addition t.
his curious weapons and hand-gre
nades, carried a rude drum, horn, o
some other noisy instrument. Whel
the natives were fairly within tn
wood they began to work slowly to
ward us with a tremendous din.
! Dozens of jackals, and other inforio
brutes, disturbed by the hideou
racket, broke cover early in the hun
and skurried past us into the lon
| grass of the open plan, without draw
, ing a shot. We We're not inclined t
make game of anything less interest
ing than tigers.
was about the centre of the line
Next me to the right was Maitland
and beyond him Smythe, an exper
enced hunter. For three hours w
\ thus stood watching and waiting
The sun had climbed high up befor
the yells and exploding grenades
the beaters proved that they wer
gradually closing in on us.
Yet we had seen no sign of the tiger!
which, however, were just as likely t
be lying within twenty feet of any on
of us as anywhere else!
A few minutes more of anxious sus
pense, and we could see, reflected i
the tops of the taller trees, occasions
flashes of the fireworks. We coul
even hear the valorous words wit
y which the creeping beaters sought
Il encourage one another. Still no tiger
had begun to think that our hur
would end without a find, when off
. little way to my right heard Will