ime, they could not take aim properly. So if any of the bullets
wounded the tiger again, the wounds were not severe.

The tiger came to the elephant on which Prince Henry was. With a huge
bound the tiger leaped upward toward the box on the elephant.

So far the elephant had stood still. Being well trained, he knew that he
must not move while the men on him were firing; _they_ must do the
fighting. But when the tiger had apparently beaten all the men and was
actually leaping on him, the elephant had a new duty to do: he must
swerve aside. So the elephant swerved aside just as the tiger was
alighting on the box on his back.

So the tiger missed his aim; instead of landing right upon the box and
killing the two men instantly, his paws only reached the elephant's
head. Into the elephant's head he dug his claws, and tried to scramble
up.

On the neck of the elephant the mahout had been seated. He was not a
hunter, but only the man who guides the elephant. So when he saw the
tiger leaping upon the elephant, the mahout just dropped off on the
other side, and escaped into the bushes. The tiger could have jumped
down on him and killed him; but the tiger scorned to touch so humble a
prey. He wanted instead to get at the hunters, who had tried to kill him
and his wife.

So the tiger dug his claws on the elephant's head, paw over paw, and
tried to climb up to the elephant's back. Maddened with the pain, the
elephant began to rock and sway. The two men on the box could not use
their guns again, as they had to clutch the box with both hands, or else
they would have been thrown to the ground--then the tiger would have
fallen on them and killed them in an instant. The two men could do
nothing to save themselves.

The fifty-eight other hunters had now reloaded their guns. Those who
were nearest pointed their guns at the tiger.

"Don't shoot!" the rajah cried out. "You might hit the two men!"

That was quite true. For now the elephant was so maddened with terror
and with the pain, that he was swaying, bucking, rearing. Nobody could
take correct aim at the tiger.

Span by span the tiger climbed up, nearer and nearer to the box. The two
helpless men in it saw the tiger's flaming eyes a yard in front of them,
and they saw the tiger's fangs crashing together as if to crunch their
bones.

A minute more, and these two men must die--in sight of the fifty-eight
other hunters.

Then again something wonderful happened. The men could