Sure enough, there were the foot-marks of the tiger, the mark of the drag, and the signs of where “Stripes” had slipped over and down the terrace.

The tiger had been harrying the coolies for some time and a rumour had got about that he was a man-eater.  It was pretty certain that he would come again the next night; so the planters determined to sit up and shoot him.

On the following night after dinner M. B. C. and H. took their positions on the verandah.  Each had his loaded gun and all waited patiently for the tiger.  Time passed.  It was weary work and they dozed.

M.’s dog had wandered off to the kitchen as usual after dinner.  After some time it returned hurriedly and ran up the steps of the verandah, barking in a frightened manner.  The dog’s barking woke the four men.  B. sat first near the steps and H. not far from him in a dining-room chair.

The dog ran into the dining-room and hid himself under the table and everything again became quiet, and the men waited.  Suddenly a hoarse cry paralysed three of them.  “He’s on me.  Shoot.”

The tiger had come up on to the verandah and springing at B. caught him by the arm.  Then, releasing the arm, he made a spring at his victim’s throat.  B. was instantly on his feet and, as the tiger essayed his throat, he rammed his clenched fist into the animal’s mouth.  The tiger shook the man’s fist out of its mouth and made another attempt to reach his throat.  B. repeated his manoeuvre.  This happened three or four times.

In the meantime the other three men dared not shoot for fear of missing the ferocious cat and killing their comrade.  H. had the presence of mind to swiftly fix his bayonet, and, rushing towards the tiger, he thrust it in the animal’s side, firing as he did so.  The tiger fell backwards off the verandah mortally wounded, but to the amazement of the Sahebs struggled tip and made another attempt to get at B. He was however too badly wounded and fell back dead.

B.’s hand and arm were terribly mauled, and after medical treatment he had to go home on long leave.

A Maharajah’s Adventures

A Maharajah of Bengal who became a noted sportsman shot his first tiger when he was quite a small boy.  When about twelve years of age he went out on a shoot one cold weather on his estate.  He was accompanied by some of his relatives, and they encamped in one of the forest bungalows.  This bungalow was just an ordinary Assam house built on a chang or raised platform.  It consisted of a large centre room with a bedroom on either side and a deep verandah in the front, where the servants slept at night.  Under large trees, some little distance away, the elephants were chained, and not far off were stables for the horses.