The Camden chronicle. (Camden, Tenn.) 1890-current, 1903-10-09
W-@I--l@-l@I--Z
By CLARENCE PULLEN.

European, had cause to dread him. A
high-born Hindu, fanaucally hating
everything associated with the English
rule in India, his crimes and cruelties
had been inspired as much by hatred
and revenge as by desire Of plumber.
Native mothers stilled their children
with the threat of his name. AS he
was utterly desperate. even the Raiah
himself who favored the English.
could not be safe from the chance of
assassination while Nadraj was at
large.
Il can't think where he can be con-
cealed," the captain continued. IF he
were friendly to the Rajah l could I'M
derstand, but his Majesty has the
greatest motive Of any one for wishing
him off the earth. DO you know that
this dacoit is Of the old royal family
4 lineal descendant, it is said, Of Raj
Kehab? If the old dynasty had not
been overthrown by the help of the
English he might be Rajah Of Budhra-
pore to-day We are going to his an
cestral city tonight to wait for the
tiger"
Our preparations for The hunt were
simple-two heavy rifles, a haversack
with provisions, and a mat to sit on.
We made our start for Nahrabad in the
afternoon and rode to e little village
at the jungle's edge, where the people
hud already gathered the wood for the
fires which they would burn at night
to keep the tiger away.
Leaving the horses there in charge of
the captains orderly, we walked along
the bullock path which led through a
dense jungle to the ruined city. An
hours walking brought us to spot
where the path emerged into an open,
grassy space On the right, across a
nullah, q ruined wall encircled the face
of an eminence, and a vast heap of
fallen stone rising like a hill within it
was Nahrabad, Raj Kehab's city.
Wild vines and bushes hid the ruin in
places, and n few trees had forced
their way into the open among the
stones of the fallen walls. Here and
there a carved column or stretch of
wall stood in place. Far up in the
ruins, at the very top there rose from
the debris two marble posts, with the
capstones still resting upon them. Here
had been the main entrance of the
Rajah's palace, and from it a rock
stairway, on which ten men might have
marched abreast, could be traced down
to a broad platform where gate had
opened in the city wall The gate and
its posts were gone, but a flight Of
steps, with the hewn stones broken
and awry, but still in place, remained,
leading from the platform down to the
foot Of the slope below the wall Be
tween the foot Of the wall and the
nullah, which once had been a moat,
| there was thick growth of jungle
shrubs as high as a mans shoulders.
With Khatra leading, we went eau
tiously on until he paused at a line Of
bent and trampled grass where some
large, soft-footed creature had made q
pathway between the jungle and the
nullah opposite the gateway. We fol-
lowed the path into the nullah, which
was swampy at the bottom. On the
hard ground the tracks We're invisible
to the white mans eye, but here they
were deeply imprinted in the moist
soil, the great paws of tiger, which,
not many hours before, had descended
from the jungle into the nullah and
thence up the other side to the foot of
the broken steps leading to the gate,
way.
"The tiger is at home" the shikart
said. 'If he comes out to range to,
night he will pass here. We must
await his coming beyond the nullah."
We went back across the nullah tC
chose our places. The sun was near its
setting, and we had no time to lose
About thirty yards from the brink was
n korinda bush large enough to shelter
us all. We crawled under this, ant
the long, horizontally growing branches
with their tips dropped to the ground
on every side, made a perfect place
OF concealment. Through the LEAKAGE
we cut loopholes from which we coulC
command the path on both sides 0.
the nullah and the steps and gatewa!
beyond. This done, we opened tn,
haversack, ate our supper and settled
ourselves for waiting. The sun haC
plunged down behind the ruins, ant
soon the blackness Of the Indian nigh
hid the ruined city n hundred yard
away. The very stars were shut from
our view by the overlapping branche
above our heads. We tipped our riff
sights with phosphorus IN order tina
they might readily be caught rs IA
darkness, and then made ou es a