The Rajah's Fortress — page 130: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

THE RAJAH’S FORTRESS. 121 “ Not the faintest idea,” said Melton. ‘“ Well, that’s nothing more nor less than the black panther of Java, and how do yousuppose he found his way to Burma? There never was one heard of outside of Java before, and even there they have become exceedingly scarce. We had a terrible time trapping this brute and getting him safely home. He killed one poor fellow for me, and badly crippled another. Don’t beafraid. The bars are stronger than they lool.” “ But how in the world do you «st these animals, and what do you do with them ? ” asked Melton. Bolton laughed. ‘“ Qh, it’s not so hard as it looks. You see those half-naked scamps yonder feeding the beasts. They don’t belong to this part of the country. They came from farther down toward the coast. The Hill tribes of Chittagong, they’re called. Not very pleasant-looking fellows, Ill admit, but they are good for the purpose. I have ten of them. They sleep in that long shed off to the left and just overhead is where McGore bunks. They get fighting so much at night that some one has got to be close at hand. But you were talking about the animals. You have heard of Adolph Rich of New York, haven’t you? The dealer in wild beasts ? Well, he sent me to Burma. It took a along while to build this place, but it was well worth the trouble. Weset our traps anywhere with- in ten miles and when we catch anything we take the cage after it. The horses over in that stable are COLUM 1OOO SS co