McClure's Magazine, November 1909 — page 7: what you’re looking at

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

22 Jim submitted, and he and Wingate tiptoed to the foot of a tree, the low branches and thick leaves of which afforded an excellent hiding- place, down-wind from the half-eaten carcass of the cow. They climbed carefully up, making scarcely any noise, and then Jim held out his hand to the other for some cartridges. The Colonel nodded. “Presently,” he whispered, and Jim waited, thinking it extremely unlikely that cartridges would be wanted at all. The moonlight came feebly: through the foliage of the surrounding trees into the little glade before them, in which lay the remains of the carcass, pulled under a bush to shield it from the carrion birds. A deer pattered by toward the river, casting startled glances on every side; insects beat against the faces of the two men; and a jackal ran out, his brush hanging down, looked round, and retired again with a melancholy howl. Then there arose a commotion in the branches of the neighboring trees, and a troop of monkeys fought and crashed and chattered as they leaped from bough to bough. Jim knew that this often portended the approach of a tiger, and a moment afterward a long, hoarse call from the river told him that the warning was correct. He made a silent sign for the cartridges; but Wingate took no notice: his face was hard and set, and the whites of his eyes gleamed. A few seconds later a large tiger crept slowly out of the grass, his stomach on the ground, his huge head held low. Jim remembered the native superstition that the head of a man- eating tiger is weighed down by the souls of its victims. With arun and a spring, the creature attacked its meal, and began growling and munching contentedly, purring like a cat, and stopping every now and then to tear up the earth with its claws. A report rang out. Wingate had fired at and hit the tiger. The great beast gave a terrific roar and sprang at the tree. Jim lifted his rifle, only to remember that it was unloaded. he cried excitedly, as the ,?? “Shoot again! THE TIGER CHARM tiger fell back and prepared for another spring. | To his horror, Wingate deliberately fired the — second barrel into the air, and, throwing away the rifle, grasped him by the arms. The man’s teeth were bared, his face was distorted and hideous, his purpose unmistakable — he was trying to throw Bastable to the tiger. Wingate was strong with the diabolical strength of madness, and they swayed till the branches of the tree cracked ominously. Again the tiger roared and sprang, and again fell back, only to gather itself together for another effort. The two men rocked and panted, the branches cracked louder, with a dry, splitting sound, then broke off altogether, and, locked in each other’s arms, they fell heavily to the ground. . Jim Bastable went undermost, and was half stunned by the shock. He heard a snarl in his ear, followed by a dreadful cry. He felt the © weight of Wingate’s body lifted from him with a jerk, and he scrambled blindly to his feet. As in a nightmare, he saw the tiger bounding away, carrying something that hung limply from the great jaws, just as a cat carries a dead mouse. He seized the Colonel’s rifle that lay near him; but he knew it was empty, and that the cartridges were in the Colonel’s pocket. He ran after the tiger, shouting, yelling, brandish- ing the rifle, in the hope of frightening the brute into dropping its prey; but, after one swift — glance back, it bounded into the thick jungle with the speed of a deer, and Bastable was left standing alone. 3 Faint and sick, he began running madly toward the camp for help, though he knew well — that nothing in this world could ever help — Wingate again. His forehead was bleeding profusely, either hurt in the fall or touched by the tiger’s claw, and the blood trickling into his — eyes nearly blinded him. He pulled his hand- — kerchief from his pocket as he ran, and some- thing came with it that glittered in the moon- light and fell to the ground with a metallic — ring. | It was the little silver amulet: the tiger charm. — CORNICE OOO KSaeolaa