The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-06-14

i
though. Good-by Hope I'll see you at
Baghra next week
I'VE shook hands and the four bearers
of the palanquin trotted away with me at
a four-mile-an-hOur gait, with Nagho and
two relay bearers following. AT CharpOre,
where we stopped a few minutes TO rest,
The bearers got hold of a report about
tiger which was said 10 have killed a man
or two lately on the road to Baghra, and
when they started on it was with little
of the willingness that they had shown at
the beginning. We had got about four
miles beyond Charpore when we met a
crowd of grass cutters coming on the run
for the village, and they shouted Tiger!
Tiger" as they came near us. / managed
to find out from them that no one had
been hurt, but that one of them thought
that he had seen a tiger. That was enough
for my six palanquin bearers. They set
the palanquin down and joined the grass
cutters in their run for the village, leaving
me with Nagho In the jungle.
Il reckoned that it was about ten miles
further to Baghra, and decided that L
would walk there rather than turn back.
l spread my umbrella to protect me from
the sun, and started along the path with
Nagho following, carrying the sarchel. II
was rough road, miry in places. / had
10 stop often to rest so as not to be over
come by heat, and darkness fell before We
had made a third of the remaining dis
lance to Baghra. But l plodded on in The
darkness, feeling rather than seeing my
way, and hoping that nearer Baghra the
road would improve. ! was beginning pref
ty thoroughly TO DISTRICT NaghO There
mad come an unpleasant change of eX-
preston in his face since the Daanquiu
men had left US and / did not like The
furtive look in his eyes which I had caught
several times in turning suddenly toward
him Now that darkness had fallen, 1
carried my revolver in my hand. quite as
much on his account as on the chance of
falling in with tiger or leopard.
Il had ordered him to walk ahead, which
command he obeyed sulkiy. He was walk
ing about thirty feet in advance of me
when he turned suddenly round Just as
my foot tripped against tree root, send
ing me sprawling to the ground AS 1
fell something whizzed above my head
and l heard tWigs and leaves falling far
back Of me down the road. 1t was Nag
hos tulwar, and but for my lucky tumble
1t would have split my skull as neatly as
you please. The Hindoo ran as soon as he
saw that his knife had missed, taking the
satchel with him. l sent three shots after
him from the ground, then got up and
started on at an easy pace, for there was
no hope of my overtaking the Fndoo for,
leaving the darkness out of the question:
he could have outstripped me on such a
road two to one. My only hope of recov-
erlnS the satchel and money and bringing
him TO punishment was in getting to Bagh-
ra and setting the native police on his
trail.
1T soon became clear to me that should
not get to Baghra that night. The air was
horribly hot and humid and the road got
worse as l went on. I could feel the Jungle
fever clutching at me in the masma that
rose from the moist ground but 1t was
better to chance that than risk falling
from heat and fatigue. / had rested my
nv Ia I
begun to nod with drowsiness, when the
roar of tiger somewhere off in the jungle
gave new turn to my thoughts, and 1
got up and stumbled on. Just as the tiger
roared again 1 saw a smouldering fire in
a clearing off to the right 1t was an even
chance whether it meant camp of wood
cutters or a rendezvous of dacoits but I
turned off the road and approached 1t. Only
one man was by the fire-an old white
bearded man seated cross-legged on a mat
and l saw that 1t was the fakir who had
been al RedVous bungalow the day before
Here in the jungle he was sitting, absorb
ed in contemplation, as calmly as if such
things as tigers or jungle fever did not
exist Two cobras in a basket by his side
reared their heads and Kissed as l came
near, but the fakir did not raise his eyes
until l stood before him. Then he looked
at me without the slightest sign of surprise
and motioued that 1 should seat myself
opposite him.
II expected YOU he said, In Hindos-
lance. You will remain here until the
morrow.
He returned to his CONCENTRATIONS and
spoke not another word through the night.
The tigers roar came nearer and
clutched my revolver as 1t changed into the
low eager, purring cry that tells he has
scented his prey-but the old man gave no
sign that he had so much as heard it, l
watched the misty darkness around for an
hIIF
roaring and no tiger appeared, and l laid
my pistol across my lap and prepared to
pass the night as comfortably as l could
In searching my pockets for cigars 1 found
a package of quinine, took fifty grains of
1t before morning and thus saved myself
from jungle fever. Hour after hour l sat
on the ground smoking cherOots, with the
old man sitting opposite me.
Part of the time his eyes were closed
but he did not nod or change his position
and whether he slept or not, 1 could not
tell. From time to time he fed the fire
from little heap of dry branches at his
side, and two or three times he lighted his
hubble-bubble but he did not once rise to
his feet or leave the mat Toward morn
ing sleep overcame me, and l woke to
find myself on my back on the ground
with the beams of the rising sun steaming
into my face, and one of the cobras crawl
ing across my legs. I kept still and the
snake crept away in the grass hunting his
breakfast.
The old fakir, who was smoking, pres
entity laid aside his pipe, collected his
snakes and other luggage together, told
me with a look that we We're to move
and we left the clearing and turned into
the road toward Baghra. In the dust and
more plainly in the miry places, we could
| see the tracks of Nagho Presently there
were other footprints above the mans
and taking the same course-the tracks of
a tiger which had come into the road from
the jungle. l had not said word to the
faxir Of what had occurred the night be-
fore, but he pointed to the tigers tracks
and said gravely, the first words he had
| spoken that morning.
These are bringing you to your prop
| erty.'
I'VE kept along the road until we came
to place where the tracks showed that
the swinging trot of the tiger had chang
| ed to a succession of long bounds. which
| ended at a spot where the dust had been
! stirred by marks of a struggle, and caked
! with drops of red. The bushes and long
grass crushed and bent to left and right
showed where the tiger leaped back into
| the jungle, and there was no track of man