The Man Eating Tiger

The sun was scorching hot at 3 pm and when we were both bathed when we reached a small hillock. There was an overhanging rock facing us on this side of this hillock, and from the base oozed a tiny trickle of freshwater, only a few drops at a time, which had formed into a public no more than a couple of feet in diameter. Clearly imprinted in the moist earth were the tracks of the tiger we were looking for; in fact, there were many pug marks to be seen, for by accident we had discovered his regular drinking place. Among the tracks was the blurred drag of his limping foot where he had rested it on the ground while he drank.

There was no doubt about it. We were looking at the tracks of man-eater at last! Jubilation filled us; both at discovering the track and finding water to drink. I placed the gun on the ground and lay on my stomach with just one thought for the moment and that was to drink, drink and drink. I never bothered to see what my friend Appu was doing or even to think about him.

It was good that Appu had waited for me to finish my drink, because as I was enjoying the ice cold water, the man-eater tiger decided to charge. there came a tremendous roar from the right of us; 'Wrr-oof!' and Again 'Wrr-oof!' And then the man-eater was upon us! Groping for the rifle with my right hand I crouched on my knees turning around the best I could to face the rush. A terrifying apparition greeted me. The snarling form of the tiger was racing towards in lopsided bobbing bounds. He was but fifteen feet away! Appu stood his ground, maniacally flourishing his axe in sweeping circle to meet that onslaught. Yelping frenziedly in front of his master, the dog Bruno, which up to this moment had shown no sign of being any more than a ludicrous, half starved cur, stood up with bared feet to meet that awful onslaught.

I suppose the tiger, too, though the sight before him frightening. The people he had killed so far had been killed in surprise. They had screamed but offer no resistance. In this case, a man stood before him whirling something around and around, while despicable cur, that he would not have condescended to look at, seemed to want to fight. They only craven scene in the scene and up to the tiger's expectation was the second individual who was rolling on the ground evidently wit abject fear and unable to get up.

The tiger halted for a moment the man-eater made the greatest and the last mistake. I had found my rifle at last did not get up because I was kneeling to take aim. I fired then, and twice again.

An examination of the dead animal confirmed that he had been turned into a man-eater by the severe damage to his right leg suffered during a fight with another tiger. At least, in this case, I was not blamed.