down a jungle path with Barnes of the Forestry Service when a tiger sprang out, got Barnes by the shoulder and dragged him down. The rifle was knocked out of his hands. Hamid Lal ran in and picked it up. Naturally, the safety catch was on. He didn’t know how to work it, whereupon he used the rifle as a club and beat the tiger across the skull with such good effect that it dropped Barnes and made off.” “Great show. So the government gave him a medal.” “And a pension for life.” The boy spoke.

that now and he held on his way purposefully. So he came to the forest, still without seeing a sign of Sula. The sun was now well down, and already under the great trees a dim green twilight had fallen. He was now both hot and tired and he had to consider how much farther he would be able to go before he became exhausted. He did not relish the idea of being benighted in the forest. Already it was an eerie place, full of strange sounds and stealthy rustlings, both on the ground and in the trees,

crept towards it. “If that confounded cloud starts to spill some rain it’ll spoil us,” muttered Captain Lovell. “We shan’t be able to see or hear a thing. On a still night one can hear a tiger coming as his tail drags through dead leaves.” Nothing more was said. The hush of night settled over the forest. Slowly the cloud crawled across the face of the moon and utter darkness fell from the sky like a blanket, James stared down into the black vault below straining his eyes to pick out a definite

in the fringe of shrubs straight in front of his father. But it was withdrawn instantly, as if the animal had realized the danger confronting it. Apparently the Skipper had seen it, too, for he called: “Mark forward.” James’ father raised a hand to show that he had seen the tiger. Inside the jungle the din rose to a wild crescendo. Had the tiger broken back on the beaters? Never did James admire human courage more than at this moment; the sheer bravery of the men who were meeting a killer

be confronted with such a test as the one to which he set his face as he set off down that dreadful track aware of what might be waiting. His every nerve screamed at him to go back. Half-way to the machan the moon came out from behind the cloud and everything was bathed in an eerie blue light that only made the shadows under the trees the more impenetrable. The rain stopped but water still dripped from the leaves with sounds like breathing, furtive movements... The clearing came into sight.