The Savannah morning news., 1903-07-05

What do you Think" whispered to
Murdoch.
Were here to shoot whatever
comes" the captain answered. IF 1t
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-below the
wall, at the foot of the steps? The
tiger can't have gone down there so
sooni 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 afoat above the bushes until
now, emerging into the open space at
the foot of the steps, it took form as
the turban of a tan 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.
"Khatra!" he whispered, shaking
the trembling shikari, tell me who it
it is you see?"
Captain Sahib." the answer came
quaveringly. 1T is the spirit of his
great ancestor Ben Kehab. 1t is
Nadraj."
The man went on, stepped upon the
landing, and stood upright. while his
shadow, stretching across the plat
form before him. fell upon a square,
faced upright stone. A pale some
thing crept like a giant snake, then
suddenly, charging enormously, shot
forward in a white streak which gath
cred upon and overwhelmed the tall
figure at the landing. The sound of
a mans cry of alarm was lost in the
deep-throated note of a. tigers snarl,
as the two went together down to the
pavement. A savage shake, the sound
of crunching bone, heard plainly by
US a hundred yards away, and the I'll
ger, rising to his feet. lifted his head,
and with eyes glowing with opaline
flames looked over his victim across
the nullah as if in challenge to US.
Our rifles already were sighted up
on 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 motionless 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-
FERROUS beast which had terrified the
Rajah and his kingdom. It's hair was
milk white from nose to tail tips, and
its eyes the color of red-hued irises. 1t
needed no naturalist to tell us that
the rarest of Jungle trophies, an al
bino tiger had fallen to our guns.
II am an old man, and have hunted
the jungle for all my days" said the
shikari but never have I seen or
heard of anything so wonderful"
Then we went up the steps to the
landing where the dead man lay. Muir
doch lifted the head-the neck was
broken-and as Khatra held the torch
down to the upturned face they both
exclaimed together, 1T is Nadraj!"
We laid the dead dacoit out on the
platform, with his folded turban COW
ering his face, and went back to the
tiger. The threat of death would not
have induced Khatra to touch the
body, but he held the torch while Muir
doch and skinned the beast. We car
ried the skin by turns through the jun
gle to the village and, after informing
the people that the tiger was dead,
rode back to the bungalow. With
squad of police summoned from Caram-
hat, Murdoch and next morning went
to Nahrabad, where, having fully iden-
titled him as Nadraj, we buried the da-
colt chief by the side of the nullah,
at the foot of the old wall of the city
where his ancestors had reigned.
Our white tiger skin was one of the
years wonders in India. 1t had SEEM
ed pure white in the night, but in the
clear daylight the markings of the or
binary tiger could be seen family in
Dictated by clouded streaks, like light
crayon pencilings, on the white ground
color. The Rajah was delighted with
what we had done, and he sent two
splendid emeralds to Murdoch and me
in appreciation of our service in rid
ding his dominions of the ghost-like
disturber of the royal peace. He great
ly desired the skin and repeatedly asked
us to name a price for it, but Murdoch
and 1 held it with the intention of pre-
senting it to Her Majesty, the En-
press, at a convenient time. But we
delayed too long, for it vanished from
the bungalow one day in my absence
and no search could recover it. L sus-
pect that the Rajah and his priests
could have accounted for it's disappear
ance. Held in their custody, they
would regard it as a hostage against
future reincarnations of Raj Kehab.
But nothing we could do helped the
matter. and Murdoch and 1 had to re-
gard the Rajah's emeralds, as recon-
pense for the loss of our priceless
trophy.