The sun., 1899-01-22

Each beast had BEEN transferred from hi
pen to n wooden cage. and these cages wer'
now rolled into the arena. Ropes were at
tnched to the fastenlnRs OF the doors. and tht
Gnekwar. perched on high In the royal box with
the English Resident and several other dig.
nItaries, took the ropes in hand. Waiting TIL
the Rajput attendants wore safely out OF the
ring. the Prince rose hauled strongly on the
ropes. and opened both the cages.
| Tho tiger was the first TO emerge. dartinE into
the ring with n friRhtful snarl. There was a
shout OF terror and admiration as the great
beast. brown and black and yellow. went rae
ing round the inclosuro. springing high against
the wooden walls and rattlng his claws against
the impenetrnble iron. No such tiger had ever
been seen in Baroda. and tho English hunters
present declared that the animal was as large n
man-eater as was ever caught In the whole OF
| India. Ho was evidently more than ten feet
| long, over fourteen feet tail and all. and over
| four feet tull at the shoulder. His teeth were
| long and white, his claws OF tremendous
length. and his shoulders great masses Of ten
| dons, moving with supple grace beneath the
| striped skin.
Three to one on the tiger!" shouted Col.
Maitland, an English officer
| Tho Gaekwar raised his hand.
I'm take that-for 5000 rupees
"Donel Make 1t 9.000?"
| Before the Prince could answer great yell
| low head came through tho door Of the second
| cage. and the lion eisurely descended into the
arena. Another cry OF surprise and admira-
| tion shook the building. II the tiger was tho
personincation OF graceful strength and supple
energy, tho lion was the embodiment Of mas
siye power and adamantine muscle. Carrying
his great head more proudly than the tiger. he
looked taller, while his heavy name gave him
an appearance OF greater size-an appearance
mi ab la rnn nnnptuaiya hv tho av1nnfly larUar
diameter OF the huge legs and the bulk of the
enormous paws.
Double your three to one ?" asked the
Gaekwar. smiling.
Col. Maitland shook his head.
IN think about 1t. your Highness, I'll think
about it. What monster the lion is: big
enough to eat an elephant. tusks and alll"
There was little time for further speculation,
for the tiger was crawling forward. crouched
almost fat upon the ground and evidently
measuring the distance for n spring. while the
lion. lashlng his sides with his heavy tail.
emitted a deep-voiced roar and stood firmly
braced awaiting the onslaught The tiger got
his distance gauged and rose in the air like
great yellow rocket. As he shot through space
the lion rose on his hind legs and received him
even as the Highlanders at Waterloo took
Napoleon's cavalry upon their bayonets. There
was a crash. chorus of horrible yels and
blocd-curding snars, and then two great
bodies rolled over and over in cloud OF sand.
The mighty fighters reganod their feet and
shook themselves free. AS they parted from
the clihch the lion swung his right paw square,
ly on the tigers head The blow shot in so
fast that even the supple cat could not avoid
the stroke. and the huge claws ripped away an
ear and tore the skin OF the tigers head iii
frightful fashion. Over in heap rolled the
tiger. and the lion rushed in to complete his
victory. His claws tore only dust. for the tiger.
regaining his presence OF mind. twisted lthely
aside and escaped annihilation.
Even money that the lion lands clean
knock k-out blow" cried Bonn bay merchant in
an upper box. There were no takers. and tiger
money became extremely scarce around the
ringsde. The lion advanced. growing, lash
ing with his TAIL and evidently looking for
chance to deal one decisive blow. The tiger
retreated. feinting from side to side till he felt
his tail brush the wood Of the side wall. Then.
Just as the lion rushed on, the tiger sprang
high in air and bounded cleanly over his
enemys back. landing twenty feet away
There was roar of applause. and the lion
looked dsgusted.
Again the lion forced the tiger back to tho
wall. This time. instead OF escaping with
leap, the tiger suddenly ran in. head almost to
the ground aiming for the lions legs. Atlas
met him with downward whack which would
have broken the neck OF bull but did not even
shake the tigers head Then they rose on
their hind legs. exactly as fighting dogs are
often seen to do. and exchanged right and left
swings for at least three minutes. while the
crowd went wild with delight and cheered like
madmen.
In-fghting did not seem to please eth er COM
Blatant. When they broke away they were
scanned and gashed and the blood was pouring I
down their tanks. The tiger had landed three
blows to the lions one. but the lions swings
evidently had much more force in them for
the gashes IN the tigers hide were the deeper
and apparently the more enfeeblng. The
tiger skunk away and hugged the wall trying
to regain his wind. while Atlas. roaring furi- /
ousy. st cd his ground In the centre, the blood !
dripping from twenty ugly wounds
After few moments rest the tiger came for
ward and began to circle round and round tho ;
enemy. A couple OF short rushes by the lion
failed to effect anything. and the African mon
arch looked worried. Seeing an apparently
favorable opening. he charged at the tiger who
darted out OF danger and then. turning like q
bird upon the wing. leaped upon the lions
back There was another fearful struggle;
the big bodies. now streaked with blood and
Drowned with dust. rolled half way across the
ring. and the lion shook himself free. deliver
iiiH Oue VI Ilant SWINGS HS ttle tlKGr
backed away The jungle terror. staggered by
the blow. made of to a safe distance. and then
sat upon his launches. watching and studying
The effect OF the last tussle.
The lion had been badly mauled. There were
TWO long rips across his back. and blood
streamed from deep tooth prints on his shoul-
1ers. He was painting hoarsely. and 1t was evil
lent that his wind was not as good as his ad-
The tiger inspected him moment.
and then came clrcling on again. There was
mother bull-like rush by the lion. and the tiger
net him fairly. plying his claws like Il demon.
When the next breathing spell came. the Hon.
out OF breath. sank heavily to his
Knees. while the tiger his stripes oblitcrated
~ the fast flowing blood. seemed far the
stronger Of the two.
1t was the tigers fight. and he knew it. He
prang at the staggering lion. took a fearful
hop on the nose without nlnching and set his
eeth in the Africans hairy throat. They
vrestled desperately. and the lions heavy mane
aved him from suffocation. Great mouthrus