“Frederick Scott told us all about it that evening, and some of the bravest of us went up to the ‘Cauliflower’ to talk over wot was to be done, though we took care to get ’ome while it was quite light.  That night Peter Gubbins’s two pigs went.  They were two o’ the likeliest pigs I ever seed, and all Peter Gubbins could do was to sit up in bed shivering and listening to their squeals as the tiger dragged ’em off.  Pretty near all Claybury was round that sty next morning looking at the broken fence.  Some of them looked for the tiger’s footmarks, but it was dry weather and they couldn’t see any.  Nobody knew whose turn it would be next, and the most sensible man there, Sam Jones, went straight off ’ome and killed his pig afore ’e went to work.

“Nobody knew what to do; Farmer Hall said as it was a soldier’s job, and ’e drove over to Wickham to tell the police so, but nothing came of it, and that night at ten minutes to twelve Bill Chambers’s pig went.  It was one o’ the biggest pigs ever raised in Claybury, but the tiger got it off as easy as possible.  Bill ’ad the bravery to look out of the winder when ’e ’eard the pig squeal, but there was such a awful snarling noise that ’e daresn’t move ’and or foot.

“Dicky Weed’s idea was for people with pigs and such-like to keep ’em in the house of a night, but Peter Gubbins and Bill Chambers both pointed out that the tiger could break a back door with one blow of ’is paw, and that if ‘e got inside he might take something else instead o’ pig.  And they said that it was no worse for other people to lose pigs than wot it was for them.

“The odd thing about it was that all this time nobody ’ad ever seen the tiger except the tramp and people sent their children back to school agin and felt safe going about in the daytime till little Charlie Gubbins came running ’ome crying and saying that ’e’d seen it.  Next morning a lot more children see it and was afraid to go to school, and people began to wonder wot ’ud happen when all the pigs and poultry was eaten.

“Then Henery Walker see it.  We was sitting inside ’ere with scythes, and pitchforks, and such-like things handy, when we see ’im come in without ’is hat.  His eyes were staring and ’is hair was all rumpled.  He called for a pot o’ ale and drank it nearly off, and then ’e sat gasping and ’olding the mug between ’is legs and shaking ’is ’ead at the floor till everybody ’ad left off talking to look at ’im.

“‘Wot’s the matter, Henery?’ ses one of ’em.

“‘Don’t ask me,’ ses Henery Walker, with a shiver.

“’You don’t mean to say as ’ow you’ve seen the tiger?” ses Bill Chambers.

“Henery Walker didn’t answer ’im.  He got up and walked back’ards and for’ards, still with that frightened look in ’is eyes, and once or twice ’e give such a terrible start that ’e frightened us ’arf out of our wits.  Then Bill Chambers took and forced ’im into a chair and give ‘im two o’ gin and patted ’im on the back, and at last Henery Walker got ’is senses back agin and told us ’ow the tiger ’ad chased ’im all round and round the trees in Plashett’s Wood until ’e managed to climb up a tree and escape it.  He said the tiger ’ad kept ’im there for over an hour, and then suddenly turned round and bolted off up the road to Wickham.