The Chickasha daily express. (Chickasha, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1899-current, 1905-05-10


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
lineal descendant it is said Of Raj
Kehab? If the old dynasty had not
been oyerthrown 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, hayersack
with provisions, and a mat to sit on.
We made our start for Nahrabad in the
afternoon and rode TO little village
at the jungle's edge. where the people
had already gathered the wood for the
lires 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 a spot
where the path emerged into an open,
grassy space. On the right. across a
nullah. a ruined wall cncircled the face
Of an emlnence and a vast heap Of
fallen stone rising like hill within it
was Nahrabad. Raj Kehab's city.
Wild vines and bushes hid the ruin in
places, and 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 tho
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
Raiah's palace, and from 1t rock
stairway, on which ten men might have
marched abreast, could be tracel down
to a broad platform where a gate had
opened in the city wall. The gate and
its posts were gone, but a fight 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 be paused at line Of
bent and trampled grass where some
large. soft-footed creature had made a
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
We're deeply imprinted in the moist
soil the great paws of tiger. witch.
not many hours before, had descended
from the iuSele 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 shikari
said. III 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 to
chose our places. The sun was near its
setting. and we had no time to lose.
About thirty yards from the brink was
a korlnda bush large enough to shelter
us ALL We crawled under this, and
the long, horizontally growing branches,
with their tips dropped to the ground
on every side. made perfect place
OF concealmeRt Through the LEAKAGE
we cut loopholes from which we could
command the path on both sides of
the nullah and the steps and gateway
beyond This done. we opened the
haversack, ate our supper and settled
ourselves for waiting The sun had
plunged down behind the ruins, and
soon the blackness Of the Indian night
hid the ruined city a hundred yards
away. The very stars were shut from
our view by the overlapping branches
above our heads. We tipped our rifle
sights with phosphorus In order that
they might readily be caught in the
darkness, and then made ourselves as
comfortable as possible. There were
the usual night noises Of the jungle,
and our ears quickened at the rustling
of small animals in the grass about us.
but there was no sound to indicate that
the tiger had come forth. In an hour
the round moon came up behind us,
flooding the scene with light. and the
shikarl. crouching behind me, touched
my arm.
See, sahibl Below the wall, to the
left Of the steps,"
Just above the tops of the bushes,
between the nullah and the foot of the
wall, a white spot was moving, as il
afioat in the air, toward the steps that
led down from the gateway to the
ground.
"What is 1t, Khatra?" I whispered,
hut the shikari did not answer With
puzzled curiosity Murdoch and /
watched the thing slowly skirting the
foot of the wall. 1t was not difficult
to understand that a superstitious ma
tive should see in it the spirit of Raj
Kehab patrolling the bulwark Of his
city.
Up in the ruins two jackals. chasing
each other about the palace steps.
suddenly checked their play. paased