The National tribune., 1899-07-06

if your object is to get the most out of this
scene, experience i'm their utmost intensity
those events to be expected? For good
reasons. Such places are infinitely lonely,
and while the silent Hindu will not disturb
ones meditations, his presence gives an
agreeable feeling of companionship. 1t is
quite possible, moreover, that you might
bleed to death before morning If no helping
hands were near. At any moment a
panther is liable to come, and this elevated
position has no difficulties for him. He can
charge into your stronghold with the light
ninglike swoop of a desert falcon. On
such an occasion it is very desirable to have
another rife handed quickly. Moony
blew panther's brains out with his muzzle
at its mouth. Simons was killed on his
machan because he had not shot in re-
serve. Lawrence and his gun-bearer both
lost their lives; but exactly why nobody
knows.
To return to our watch. Gopal Singh sat
space of which the dead buffalo formed a
central point. He was fixing in his men,
ory every minute feature of the ground, its
irregular Jungle fringes, and those falling
| shades which needed to be remembered
when another shadow should develop itself
| there. Nobody could have had keener
organs than he; no mortal possessed more
completely that singular automatically
acting sixth sense, which gives warning in
some inscrutible way if peril threatens, or,
| as seen In operation among native shikaries,
| notifies them of many things unseen.
Hours passed, the forest stirred near and
far with varied manifestations of nocturnal
life, its gloom deepened before moon-rise,
and either responsively to these impressions
or during intervals OF dead silence-for
| there was not a breath of air-strained at
| tention, as it always does, played elfin
| tricks. Augmentations, distortions, trans
| formations took place with everything seen
or heard. The overwrought brain was
haunted by phantoms of its own creation.
About this time, Gopal Singh, hitherto
silent. wanted to gum white paper sight
| he brought along on the rifle. That was
stopped at once In night-shootirg it is
essential TO have acquired so much skill
that the butt will be brought up squarely-
mans shoulder-after which he had better
use both eyes, and not look out for obscure
| points. Anyway, this soicitude was
parity assumed; for it soon appeared that
he too had become uneasy under the in
fiuence of those surroundings. though not
in the same way as his companion. They
Isuggested to Gopal Singh all the weird
lsuperstitions he believed in implicitly, and
therefore the hunter talked-talked in soft
est whispers-to keep himself from being
ifull-fiedged devils. He told a most un-
Icanny tale, considering the place, and his
laccent of absolute conviction. A story
turning upon an almost universal opinion
IN india TO the effect that people killed by
tigers, and thereby cut off from salvation.
are instantly converted into demons who
hate mankind, and straightway become
lalles of those beasts by whom they were
destroyed.
Gopal went on in this style until the
first moonbeams glittered in his eyes; then,
all at once, he became petrified-sat there.
bent forward and rigid, staring into the
darkness Not for long, however. A
Islow, bitter smile stole over his countenance
and he breathed rather than said: "Arrii
Arri! Sahib, the tiger, he comes" Nothing
more discernible by civilized senses seemed
to be impending than if what this Hindu
levidently knew of were happening in
another world. Nevertheless it was true:
he did come-just as the night awoke from
its breathless sleep, and tendril, leaf or
stalk, thrilled to low signing puffs Of wind,
rising with the moon.
An indstinct form, looming larger than
life in that uncertain light, advanced with
out a sound from the jungle's dense black
shadow. For some moments he stood still.
slowly turning his great head, and we
lcould see his fiery eyes sweeping the open
space; but he did not look up. To their,oWn
ldetriment these beasts seldom do:-a ne
lcullarity they share with lions Being
satisfied that all was secure, he came for
ward and seemingly began to triumph over
his victim anew. Not, however, walking
around it with stiffened tail as when prev Is
freshly-killed; only bristling and growing
] fiercely, besides striking one heavy blow
upon the carcass with his paw.