magnificent animal, and just
in his prime. It was a most exciting scene; the ponderous bull grazing
quietly along the valley in utter ignorance of danger, and feeding so
industriously that he never once lifted his head from the ground, while
the tiger crawled towards him in a manner that was exquisite to see. Belly
to the ground, its movements resembled rather those of a snake than an
animal as it wound its way through the scrub, gliding through the ferns,
and taking advantage of all the bushes. Occasionally it sat up to peer
cautiously at the bull, and then sinking down it again glided on. Except
now and then, when the bushes were low, I doubt if it could see the bull,
nor could the latter scent the tiger, for the bull was feeding down the
valley in the teeth of the strong monsoon winds, and the tiger was
following in its tracks.

"As the two goudas sitting with me in the long grass observed the
movements of the tiger, they could not contain their indignation. No doubt
they thought of the many cattle they had recently lost, and, connecting
the present revelation of the tiger's mode of proceeding with the
slaughter of their buffaloes, they relieved their feelings by uttering
_sotto voce_ the most virulent abuse of the tiger, its wife, and its
female relations in general, and every fresh movement of the tiger drew
from them some extremely powerful and untranslatable epithets. The
temptation to fire at the tiger was very great, but I refrained, as every
moment brought them nearer to me, and it seemed certain that the fight
must come off just below the ground I was seated on.

"The scene was now an extremely exciting one, for the animals were about
200 yards from us, the bull having fed to within fifty yards of the open
grass, and the tiger having crept so close to him that every moment we
expected something to happen. We saw the tiger crawl right up to the bull,
and it seemed to get actually within a yard of it, and yet it did not
spring. A few seconds more passed, and then the bull, suddenly becoming
aware of the tiger's presence, made a rapid rush forward into the open
grass land outside of the scrub. Then he pulled up at a distance from it
of about sixty yards, and faced round in the direction of the tiger. Had
he liked, he might have gone away altogether; but, far from showing fear,
he was furious, and looked superb as he shook his head and snorted with
rage. Then for about two minutes he stood as still as if carved