For
About An Hour I Slept Peacefully With My Back To
The Tree, And Then Woke Suddenly With An Uncanny
Feeling That Something Was Wrong.
Mahina,
however, was on the alert, and had seen nothing;
and although I looked carefully round us on all
sides, I too could discover nothing unusual.
Only
half satisfied, I was about to lie back again, when
I fancied I saw something move a little way off
among the low bushes. On gazing intently at
the spot for a few seconds, I found I was not
mistaken. It was the man-eater, cautiously
stalking us.
The ground was fairly open round our tree,
with only a small bush every here and there;
and from our position it was a most fascinating
sight to watch this great brute stealing stealthily
round us, taking advantage of every bit of cover
as he came. His skill showed that he was an
old hand at the terrible game of man-hunting:
so I determined to run no undue risk of losing
him this time. I accordingly waited until he got
quite close - about twenty yards away - and then
fired my .303 at his chest. I heard the bullet
strike him, but unfortunately it had no
knockdown effect, for with a fierce growl he turned and
made off with great long bounds. Before he
disappeared from sight, however, I managed to
have three more shots at him from the magazine
rifle, and another growl told me that the last
of these had also taken effect.
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