Page:Hunting and trapping stories; a book for boys (IA huntingtrappings00pric).pdf/14

STORIES OF TIGER HUNTING be close at hand. He was right for a moment or so later a splendid creature sprang out of concealment without making a sound. The deer escaped, but the doe was borne to the earth by the tiger's claws. The brute leisurely ate the carcass while the hunter lay in hiding watching it not fifty yards away. When the tiger had finished its meal naturally it felt thirsty. It rose, yawned, stretched itself lazily like a cat and moved off down the path towards the river exactly as the hunter had calculated.



Now the trap set for the tiger was a clever one. The hunter had collected a number of large leaves and had covered them with a peculiar kind of bird-lime, made of sugar, linseed oil, and a number of other things, all boiled together. The preparation is well known in India, and is extremely sticky. If a person gets it on his hands it is sometimes weeks before all traces can be removed. The hunter had covered the path with these leaves for quite a distance, and owing to their color they looked innocent enough. The tiger reached the edge of the leaves and trod upon some of them, and they instantly stuck to its feet. The beast looked troubled, and tried to