The Camden chronicle. (Camden, Tenn.) 1890-current, 1903-10-09

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but there was no sound TO indicate that
the tiger had come forth. I'm an hour
the round moon came up behind u.s.
, flooding the scene with light. and the
shl,arl. crouchlng behind me, touched
my arm.
"Scc, sahibl Below the wall, to the
left of the steps"
Just above the tops Of the bushes,
between the nulloh and the foot Of the
wall, a white spot was moving, as II
adoat I'm the air. toward the steps that
led down from the gateway TO the
ground.
"What Is It. Khatra" I whispered,
but the shikari did not answer. with
puzzled curiosity Murdoch and 1
watched the thing slowly skirting the
foot of the wall. 1t was not difficult
TO understand that a superstItious ma
tive should see I'm 1t the spirit Of Raj
Kehab patrolling the buwarl Of IFS
city.
Up in the ruins two jackals, chasing
each other about the palace steps
suddenly checked their play, paused
in an attitude Of listening and skunk
away out of view. The shkau
crouching behind me, trembled vio-
lently. Turning our gaze upward
Murdoch and / looked at the palace
doorway, where a new figure had APP
peared. The capstone on which, by
| troJftfov Dot L ohoh'. t{,r,. ,p,l,tot,,
stood carved in marble, had in the
daylight rested level and bare upon the
posts. Now upon the capstone, in the
full rays of the moon, white rs the
marble beneath it, the form of a tiger
was silhouetted against the night sky.
For n few long seconds, while we
waited and wondered. it remained like
statue Of alabaster, then in an in
slant vanished. 1t was all very queer
and eerie.
1T is no delusion; we both saw him.
What do you thinkY l whispered to
Murdoch.
Were here to shoot whatever
comes" the captain answered. "If it
isn't a trick of Imagination, if that's
the fellow that made the tracks in
the nullah, he should show up next
at the gateway. Ha! what's that-be-
low the wall, at the foot of the steps?
The tiger can't have gone down there
so soon! It's a man-and he's going
up into the city"
In the excitement of watching the
apparition on the capstone we had
taken no further thought of the white
object afloat above the bushes, until
now, emerging into the open space at
the foot of the steps, it took form Of
the turban of a tall man in native garb,
who began to ascend the steps to the
gateway. AS his head and shoulders
rose above the landing he looked
around, bringing his profile into view.
Murdoch started
"Khatraw he whispered, shaking the
trembling shikari, tell me who it is
you seew
Captain sahib" the answer came
Quiveringly, 1T is the spirit of his great
ancestor Raj Kehab. 1t is Nadraj"
The man went on, stepped upon the
landing and stood upright, while his
shadow, stretching across the platform
before him, fell upon a square-faced
upright stone. A pale something crept
like a giant snake, then suddenly en-
Iarging enormously, shot forward in a
white streak which gathered upon and
overwhelmed tne tall figure at the
landing. The sound of a mans cry of
alarm was lest in the deep-throated
note of q tigers snarl, as the two went
together down to the pavement. A
savage shake, the sound of crunchinG
bone, heard plainly by us 4 hundred
yards away, and the tiger, rising to
his feet, lifted his head, and with eyes
glowing with opaline flames looked
over his victim across the nollah as if
in challenge to us
Our rifles were already sighted upon
him. and we fired together. Through
the smoke we saw the tiger rise into
the air above the man, fall half way
down upon the steps below, and roll
to the bottom. Before the rattle Of
our shots had died away among the
ruins he lay outstretched and motion
less at the foot Of the steps, while at
the top the head of the man he had
killed, hanging Imply over the edge of
the landing, seemed peering down at
his slayer.
We reloaded our rifles, crawled from
under the bush, and went over to
where the tiger was lying. BY the
light of a torch we examined the mys.
terious beast which had terrified the
Rajah and his kingdom. It's hair was
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