invited us to your country house, I told you our stay could be but
brief. The period I intended to pass with you has elapsed; and though
delighted with your hospitality, I must really be thinking of my
departure."
"Nonsense, nonsense!" exclaimed his host. "You wo'n't be thinking of any
thing of the kind. There is no business waiting for you. My people in
the city will take care that every thing you required shall be shipped
safely without loss of time; and, therefore, there can be no occasion
for your troubling your young brains about profit and loss for a day or
two at least. Come and hunt, I tell you. Come and hunt."
"Is there any good hunting in this part of the world, then?" inquired
Oriel.
"Hunting! The best hunting in the universe," replied Sir Curry Rajah.
"I've got the finest preserves in all India."
"And what game have you?" asked his visitor.
"Game?--Game of all kinds, and plenty of it; especially tigers,"
responded the other.
"Tigers!" exclaimed the young merchant in so loud a voice that his
companions started with surprise. "Why, what could induce you to
preserve such animals?"
"The sport, to be sure, man," replied Sir Curry; "and we are obliged to
be very strict in the application of our game laws; for the rascally
poachers will often destroy the game."
"I should think the game more likely to destroy the poachers," observed
his guest with a smile.
"That's their look out," said the other. "I only know it's a most
difficult thing to preserve tigers. My tenants shoot them if they happen
to attack their flocks; and the peasants combine to kill them, for
the purpose of procuring their skins. But our game laws punish the
scoundrels severely if they are caught in the fact--imprisonment and
hard labour for every offence, and very just these laws are. Why,
gentlemen would have no sport if they were to allow their game to be cut
up by every fellow who has a desire for sport, or thinks his life or the
lives of his cattle of more value than a tiger. I have been at great
expense with my preserves; for the animal has long been exceedingly
scarce: and I have improved the breed a great deal by importing some new
varieties. The cross which has ensued has altered the game wonderfully.
They are infinitely more savage, far more daring, and in speed and
cunning are not to be excelled. In fact, my tigers have a reputation
all over the country; and the ablest hunters are very glad to get a
day's sport with me, as they know they will meet with the best tigers
that are to be found any where."
"And how do you hunt them?" inquired Oriel.
"On elephants principally," replied Sir Curry. "The hunter sits upon
an elephant, with an air gun, fixed upon a swivel, before him. These
animals are well trained. I've got some of the finest elephants in the
world, thorough-bred--and they go into the preserve, and rouse the tiger
from his cover. If he goes off, the elephant follows; if he shows fight,
the hunter fires: and sometimes the game is not killed till fine sport
has been enjoyed--a man or two killed, and other exciting pleasures
enjoyed."
"And did these skins belong to animals of your killing?" inquired
Tourniquet, who had been an attentive listener to the conversation, as
he turned over two or three large tiger skins.
"Yes, I killed them, and fine sport they gave," said his host. "That
one you have in your hand belonged to a noble fellow. The day in which
he was killed was a memorable one. My late neighbour, Lord Muligatawny,
was very proud of his preserves, and used to boast he had the best
tigers in India. So to take the conceit out of his lordship, I invited
him to a hunt on my grounds. Well, he came on his elephant, for he
enjoyed the sport as much as any man, and we proceeded together with our
attendants to a jungle in which I knew the greatest quantity of game was
to be found. He and I kept close together, he boasting all the time of
the superiority of his preserves, till as we entered this particular
place, I thought it would be most advisable to be at a short distance
from him, so we separated, but without my losing sight of him. Now Lord
Muligatawny used a peculiar kind of snuff-box, and was a fierce looking
sort of man; and he used to say that no tiger could ever look him in the
face. He said the brute always bolted when he tried the experiment.
Well, we saw lots of game, and had some capital sport, but as we were
proceeding along in high spirits at our success, I started a magnificent
animal. I had a shot at him, but was not near enough to do him any
mischief. As the tiger was stealing off towards Lord Muligatawny, he
fired; but whether it was his mismanagement of the gun, or proceeded
from his elephant's suddenly backing at the approach of the tiger, I
cannot say; but certain it is Lord Muligatawny was tumbled off his
elephant, and in another moment the tiger was upon him. 'Now we shall
see if the tiger will bolt,' thought I; and he did bolt: but he bolted
with Lord Muligatawny! He grasped his lordship by the nape of his neck
at the time he was looking as fierce as a ferret, and flinging his body
over his shoulder, he was out of sight before any one could get a shot
at him."
"And what became of him?" inquired Oriel.
"That was the last we ever saw of Lord Muligatawny," replied Sir Curry.
"But about a week afterwards I was hunting in the neighbourhood, when,
after a capital run, and a desperate contest, I succeeded in killing one
of the finest tigers I ever saw. I had his body taken home to show him
to my friends, and upon opening him, among the best part of a sheep,
a dog's hind quarters, and a litter of sucking pigs, we found the
identical snuff-box of poor Lord Muligatawny, proving beyond the
possibility of a doubt that not only had the tiger bolted _with_ his
lordship, but that he had had the audacity to make a bolt _of_ him. But
come and hunt--come and hunt--I will show you some capital sport."
"Such as you showed Lord Muligatawny, I suppose," said the young
merchant, laughing.
"Oh no, there's no danger," replied his host; and then taking an air-gun
of a peculiar construction towards his visitor, added, "Now, look at
this weapon--one of the best of the kind ever made. This is fixed on a
swivel in the carriage in which you sit on the elephant; and you are
quite safe, and, if you are a tolerable marksman, are sure to wound your
game. Besides this, the hunter generally has a strong short sword, like
this," said he, producing a weapon of that description. "Very sharp and
very useful too, for if the tiger leaps on the elephant, which he will
frequently do, the hunter with a good blow at his head may settle his
business. Come and hunt, man, come and hunt."
"Confound these mosquitoes!" exclaimed the professor in a rage, vainly
endeavouring to drive the insects from about him, and making the most
ludicrous grimaces, as in spite of his exertions they succeeded in
biting the exposed part of his head. "These horrible things will torment
me to death. Ever since I have been in this deplorable country, my head
has been besieged by thousands of them. They don't let me rest a minute.
Ah! What a gripe! I shall go mad! They'll torment me to death; I can't
endure it, Sir Curry."
"You'll soon get used to it," said his host, quietly. "This is the way
they always use strangers. You are fresh meat to them. But come and
hunt--come and hunt; I'll have the elephants got ready for you
immediately, and it's a capital day for the sport."
"What say you, gentlemen? Shall we hunt the tiger?" asked Oriel
Porphyry.
"I would rather you would hunt the musquitoes," said Fortyfolios,
seriously.
"What say you, Zabra?"
"If you wish it, Oriel," replied the youth.
"I have not the slightest objection, don't you see," observed the
doctor.
"Then let it be, Sir Curry," said Oriel.
Orders were instantly given to the servants, a crowd of dark Hindoos,
in white turbans, short frocks fastened round the middle with a sash,
and with bare arms and legs, who lost no time in making the necessary
preparations.
Three elephants were caparisoned and led round to the front of the
house. Sir Curry mounted the largest, and Fortyfolios and Tourniquet,
after some trouble, managed to get firm sitting on another. While these
preparations were making, Zabra had been amusing himself by feeding the
remaining elephant with sweetmeats. She was a small but exceedingly
docile animal; and seemed to enjoy the sort of food with which she was
indulged with a particular gusto, swinging her body with a regular
oscillatory movement, and twisting her trunk up and down with ceaseless
activity. The order having been given her to kneel, the two friends
mounted; and, accompanied by a few attendants, skilful in the management
of the hunt, the party moved forward into an open park, in which several
blue-skinned buffaloes and humped bullocks, with here and there a few
deer, were seen endeavouring to find a cool place in the shadows of the
trees. The day was excessively hot; and the oppressive sultriness of
the atmosphere seemed to be felt by every living thing, except the
mosquitoes, who flew about in myriads, plaguing both man and beast. In
passing a large tank the cattle were frequently seen rushing into it,
where they would remain with nothing but their noses above the water,
in hopes of escaping from those tormenting insects; but Fortyfolios
appeared to be the especial object of their attacks, for his hands were
constantly employed in trying to drive them from his face. They passed
many clumps of lofty cocoa-nut trees, in which troops of monkeys were
skipping about from branch to branch, and chattering at the hunters
with more volubility than harmony; and, after proceeding along fields of
rice, indigo, and Indian corn, surrounded by hedges of aloes and bamboo,
they approached a marsh, watered by a branch of the Ganges, in which
several large crocodiles, troops of adjutants, and different species of
snakes were observed.
"There's plenty of game here, you see!" remarked Sir Curry to his
companions. "But it's wonderful the difficulty I have to preserve it;
poaching prevails to a great extent in spite of the severity of our game
laws."
No reply was made to the observation; and the party passed on,
making their way with great difficulty through a forest of banyans,
occasionally taking a shot at a stray jackal or a wandering vulture,
till they descended a steep declivity, overgrown with thick underwood,
over which trees of immense proportions spread their gigantic branches.
"Now we shall soon beat up the game," said Sir Curry: "we are entering a
famous preserve of tigers. About half a mile further in the jungle we
shall come to the very place where I lost poor Lord Muligatawny. Very
interesting spot."
Fortyfolios at least did not seem to care for the interest of the place,
and he regretted ever having left the safe quarters of Sir Curry Rajah's
country-house, to wander on the back of an elephant through marshes, and
forests, and jungles, infested with every species of venomous and savage
creatures.
"I cannot see what pleasure there can be in exposing one's life in
this way. It's the most foolish thing I ever heard of," said he to his
companion.
"The ancients were much greater fools, don't you see," replied
Tourniquet. "They would break their necks after a wretched fox."
"But the fox couldn't eat the hunter, and the tiger can," added the
other seriously.
"Then there is the greater necessity for killing the tiger, don't you
see," rejoined the doctor.
"But why not exterminate the breed? They must be very destructive to the
flocks and herds as well as to human beings who happen to fall in their
way; yet this man actually preserves them for the sake of the sport they
afford," said the professor, with unfeigned astonishment.
"Just so did the ancients with their foxes," replied his companion.
"They were very destructive to the poultry of the neighbouring farmers;
they were perfectly worthless; their skins were of no value, and their
flesh not eatable; yet they were carefully preserved for the sport they
afforded."
"A tiger!" exclaimed Sir Curry, who was a little in advance of the
party, as he pointed to some animal, the form of which could not be
clearly distinguished, stealing through the high grass and reeds with
which they were surrounded. Several shots were fired at him; but he
bounded away as if unhurt, and the elephants proceeded in pursuit.
"A tiger!" again shouted their host, and another was observed making
off in a contrary direction; but he escaped before a gun could be
discharged.
Oriel Porphyry began to feel a little excited, and took more interest
in the hunt than he had previously experienced.
"Oh!" exclaimed Fortyfolios, as loud as he could scream; and, upon
looking round to observe what was the matter, the hunters beheld a large
monkey, as the professor was passing underneath the branch of a tree,
swinging by his tail, dart down, and snatch the straw hat that
Fortyfolios wore to shield his head from the sun's rays, with which he
made an immediate retreat, grinning and chattering among his companions
as if congratulating himself on the cleverness by which he had acquired
the prize. The whole troop were immediately in commotion, scrambling
with one another for possession of the spoil; till the thief, finding he
was likely to lose the result of his dexterity, placed the hat on his
own head, and darted off, from branch to branch, with inconceivable
rapidity, pursued by the other monkeys with a chorus of yells absolutely
deafening.
Fortyfolios looked the very picture of mute despair when he found his
bald head exposed to the attacks of the relentless mosquitoes, and
was obliged to bind it with a handkerchief. His disquietude did not
decrease, when, a few paces farther on, his eyes fell upon the form of a
monstrous snake, twined round the stem of an immense tree, which, with
arched head, glaring eyes, and protruded sting, seemed about to spring
upon the unhappy professor.
"Plenty of game here, gentlemen; capital preserve," observed Sir Curry
very coolly.
"Heaven preserve me!" emphatically exclaimed Fortyfolios, trembling in
every joint.
Tourniquet fired at the monster, and he immediately glided away into the
deepest recesses of the jungle.
"A tiger!" shouted Sir Curry, as one made its appearance within a few
yards of his elephant. Oriel fired, and hit him. Sir Curry fired at the
same time, and lodged a bullet in his shoulder. The animal, smarting
with the pain and howling with rage, made a spring at Sir Curry, which
brought him within reach of his "tiger-slayer," as he called it; and a
ferocious blow, well directed, sent him with another howl to the feet of
the elephant, who kept him between her hind legs and her fore legs till
she had kicked him to death.
"Fine beast!" said Sir Curry Rajah, noticing its size; "but this place
is famous for such game. By the bye, this is the identical spot in which
I lost poor Lord Muligatawny. He was sitting on his elephant just where
sits our friend the professor----"
"Oh!" groaned Fortyfolios.
"When he fell into the jaws of the tiger."
The professor shuddered and looked very pale.
"A tiger!" shouted Sir Curry.
"Murder!" screamed Fortyfolios; and if Tourniquet had not laid hold of
him he would have tumbled off his seat.
"I'm surprised a man of your sense should show so much fear, don't you
see," observed the doctor.
"It is not fear, Doctor Tourniquet," replied the professor, endeavouring
to conceal his alarm with all the philosophy he possessed. "I do not
care about death, but I have a reasonable objection to being devoured.
As for the quality, impression, or emotion, which is usually called
fear, in a philosophical sense, I deny that in me it has ever had
existence."
"A tiger!" again shouted Sir Curry.
"Murder!" again screamed the professor; and he trembled so violently
that he caught hold of the framework of the seat to secure his position
on the elephant. The game now became very plentiful; and the hunt was
followed from one jungle through open vistas into another. Oriel entered
into the pursuit with ardour, but Zabra did not appear to join in it
with the least interest. He seemed to entertain the same objection to
being devoured as Fortyfolios, or else his anxiety for the safety of his
companion destroyed all pleasure in the chase. He became restless and
uneasy; but Oriel was so actively engaged in looking for and despatching
the game, that he did not notice the disquietude of his friend. They had
killed several tigers; and, having pursued a very large one out of the
jungle into an open valley, he there made a stand before a large banyan
tree. The hunters surrounded him, and he was crouching, lashing himself
with his tail, and preparing for a spring, as they approached. As soon
as they came within shooting distance, Oriel, Sir Curry, and Dr.
Tourniquet, fired; instantly, with a low half-stifled growl, the tiger
gave two or three prodigious bounds, and leaped upon the elephant upon
which Zabra was sitting; and immediately afterwards both were rolling
together among the long grass. The elephant, as soon as she observed
Zabra's danger, as if in gratitude for the attentions she had received
from him before starting for the hunt, turned round and ran at the tiger
as if with the intention of trampling him down. The young merchant, in
the anguish of the moment, at seeing his friend in the power of the
ferocious beast, had at first lost his presence of mind, but observing
that the elephant had succeeded in drawing the attention of the tiger
from his victim, he slipped off her back, and, with no other weapon
than his hunting sword, advanced to the place where the animal stood.
The elephant had made two or three rushes at the tiger, but had not
succeeded in getting him under her feet, and he was still crouching
beside the prostrate body of Zabra, when he observed the approach of
Oriel.
"Let me have a shot at him, Master Porphyry," exclaimed his host.
"You will be killed, don't you see, if you attack him with such a
useless weapon?" shouted Tourniquet. Oriel still advanced with his sword
firmly grasped, his arm raised, and his gaze fixed upon that of the
tiger. The savage beast curved his back and lashed his tail; his fur
became erect, and his eyes seemed flashing with an expression of the
most terrible ferocity. Oriel Porphyry still moved forward; and as the
tiger, with a low sharp growl, made a bound towards him, he leaped on
one side, and turning quickly round dealt a blow with all his force,
that severed the tendons of the animal's leg, as he reached the ground.
The brute howled with pain, and rushed with open mouth upon his
antagonist. The wound he had received prevented him from making a
spring, but he dashed furiously forward upon three legs, with looks
intent upon mischief.
At this instant, the elephant made a rush at the tiger, and tumbled him
over to a considerable distance. Oriel again advanced towards him; and
lashing himself into a fiercer rage, the wounded beast prepared to dig
his claws and teeth into the body of his pursuer; but the young merchant
avoided all the desperate attempts the savage creature made to fasten
upon him, and inflicted upon his head and legs several severe wounds;
then, watching his opportunity, he brought down the sword with all his
strength upon his skull, and the tiger fell dead at his feet.
When he turned round to hasten to Zabra's assistance, he found the
elephant trying to raise him from the ground with her trunk: and she
seemed as much concerned at the accident as any person there, and moved
him as gently, and looked in his face as anxiously, as the tenderest
nurse could have done.
"Bravely fought, Master Porphyry!" exclaimed Sir Curry. "I never saw
finer sport; and you have shown yourself one of the best hunters I ever
met with. You shall have the skin, for you've well deserved it."
"Are you much hurt, my dear Zabra?" he anxiously inquired, without
attending to his host's commendations, as he bent over the prostrate
body of his friend. A low groan was all the reply he received. "Dr.
Tourniquet!" shouted Oriel: but the doctor was standing at his side,
having hastened to the spot when he saw that his services were likely to
be required.
"See what can be done immediately," added the young merchant earnestly.
"I'm almost afraid the brute has killed him."
"It's not so bad as that, don't you see, for he breathes," observed the
surgeon.
"But his dress is all over blood; therefore he must have received some
dangerous wounds," added Oriel. "Here; I'll undo his vest; and then we
can see the extent of the injury he has received."
"Oh, no!" said the doctor, unceremoniously pushing him away.
"Doctor Tourniquet, you behave very strangely, I think," said the other,
seemingly much offended.
"I beg pardon, Master Porphyry," responded the doctor, apparently with
much confusion; "but it would be very dangerous to meddle with the
wounds now, don't you see."
"They surely ought to be dressed without loss of time," remarked the
young merchant.
"The patient has received a severe shock; and the state of the
atmosphere, and--and not having with me things necessary to dress the
wound, and--and many other things, make it advisable that the patient
should be put to bed before his hurts are examined," said the doctor,
attempting to hide his perplexity as well as he could.
"I must say, I think it very strange," observed Oriel, not being able
to account for the embarrassment under which the doctor was evidently
labouring.
"No harm done, I hope?" inquired Sir Curry, as he approached upon his
elephant. "I should be sorry to have another Lord Muligatawny affair."
"There's no knowing what harm has been done; for I really cannot get my
surgeon to ascertain," replied the young merchant.
"No! ah! that's strange," responded his host: "I always like to know the
worst. It's a great consolation."
"Let us get out of this horrid place, or we shall all be eaten up by
wild beasts," exclaimed Fortyfolios, who was sitting, disconsolate and
uneasy on the top of his elephant.
"Such a thing might be. I've known several persons whose ardour in
pursuit of game has made them food for tigers," remarked Sir Curry.
"Poor Lord Muligatawny was only one instance out of many."
"Oh!" groaned the professor.
"See, he revives!" exclaimed the doctor, directing attention to his
patient, whose eyes were gently unclosing.
"Zabra! my dear Zabra! are you better?" asked Oriel, as he supported his
young friend's head on his shoulder.
Zabra looked about him with a wild stare, till his eyes fell upon the
elephant, who had all the time been an attentive spectator of the scene,
and then, as if remembering what he had suffered, he gave a slight
convulsive shudder, and sunk back into the arms of his patron.
"The tiger is dead, Zabra!" exclaimed Oriel.
"I wish all tigers were dead," muttered Fortyfolios.
"I think we had better place the patient on yonder elephant, and I will
accompany him till we return from whence we set out, when he can have
his wounds dressed, don't you see," said Dr. Tourniquet, who had
recovered from his confusion.
"Yes, send him forward with some of my people," added Sir Curry Rajah;
"and you come with me, Master Porphyry, and I'll show you a preserve
where the tigers are as thick as monkeys on a cocoanut tree."
"I've had quite enough of tiger hunting, I thank you," replied Oriel
Porphyry, very seriously; then directing his attention to his young
friend, he exclaimed--"Zabra! are you better now?"
The youth opened his long eye-lashes, and gazed upon his patron, as
if recognising his voice, and then in a low whisper said, "Yes, I am
better, Oriel."
"Will you let Dr. Tourniquet examine your wounds, Zabra? We want to know
how much you are hurt."
"Oh no! oh no!" he replied hastily, "Not now, not now, Oriel. Not now."
"This is very strange," observed the young merchant, unable to find
a reason for an objection to a thing that seemed so requisite. "Very
strange--but you can let us know what injury you have received."
"My back and arms are lacerated," responded Zabra. "But they do not pain
me so much as they did. Dr. Tourniquet shall see to them when I return,
and perhaps you can allow him to remain with me in case I should want
his assistance before. You can then return with the professor."