Page:Life in Java Volume 2.djvu/42

 26 LIFE IN JAVA.

same weapons, the king of the jungle raises his head, waves his tail from side to side like a cat ready to pounce on its prey, and looks at his ad- versary as though the glare of his fierce eyes we^e sufficient to inspire awe and dread.

The avidience at this crisis becomes breathless with excitement. From the Kegent himself, to the little boy who gazes at the scene seated on his father's shoulder, all are fascinated by the same dread spectacle, and an ominous silence prevails. The defiant roar of the tiger is responded to by the deep bellowing of the buffalo, which shakes the surrounding ground. The tiger, after stealthily advancing, stops to watch the movements of his foe ; the buffalo, threatening his adversary with his formidable horns, stands ready to toss him in the air. But the cunning animal, by a kind of instinct, seems to understand the danger to which he is ex- posed, and crouching down, as though for a leap, while his enemy rushes forward to fling him up, he

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