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  CHAPTER VIII IN TIGER LAND   The tiger in India—His reputation—Wounded tigers—Man-eaters—Game killers and cattle thieves—A tiger's residence—Chance meetings—Methods of tiger hunting—Beating with elephants—Sitting up—A sportsman's patience—The charm of a night watch—A cautious beast—A night over a kill—An unexpected visitor—A tantalising tiger—A tiger at Asirgarh—A chance shot—Buffaloes as trackers—Panthers—The wrong prey—A beat for tiger—The Colonel wounds a tiger—A night march—An elusive quarry—A successful beat—A watery grave—Skinning a tiger 141   CHAPTER IX A FOREST MARCH   Reasons for showing the flag—Soldierless Bengal—Planning the march—Difficulties of transport—The first day's march—Sepoys in the jungle—The water-creeper—The commander loses his men—The bivouac at Rajabhatkawa—Alipur Duar—A small Indian Station—Long-delayed pay—The Subdivisional Officer—A dâk bungalow—The sub-judge—Brahmin pharisees—The nautch—A dusty march—Santals—A mission settlement—Crossing a river—Rafts—A bivouac in a tea garden—A dinner-party in an 80-lb. tent—Bears at night—A daring tiger—Chasing a tiger on elephants—In the forest again—A fickle river—A strange animal—The Maharajah of Cooch Behar's experiment—A scare and a disappointment—Across the Raidak—A woman killed by a bear—A planters' club—Hospitality in the jungle—The zareba—Impromptu sports—The Alarm Stakes—The raft race—Hathipota—Jainti 174   CHAPTER X THROUGH FIRE AND WATER   India in the hot weather—A land of torment—The drought—Forest fires—The cholera huts burned—Fighting the flames—Death of a sepoy—The bond between British officers and their men—The sepoy's funeral—A fortnight's vigil—Saving the Station—The hills ablaze—A sublime spectacle—The devastated forest—Fallen leaves on fire—Our elephants' peril—Saving the zareba—A beat for game in the jungle—Trying to catch a wild elephant—A moonlight ramble—We meet a bear—The burst of the Monsoons—A dull existence—Three hundred inches of rain—The monotony of thunderstorms—A changed world—Leeches—Monster hailstones—Surveyors caught in a storm—A brink in the Rains—The revived jungle—Useless lightning-conductors—The Monsoon again—The loneliness of Buxa 196   CHAPTER XI IN THE PALACE OF THE MAHARAJAH   The Durbar—Outside the palace—The State elephants—The soldiery—The Durbar Hall—Officials and gentry of the State—The throne—Queen Victoria's banner—The hidden ladies—Purdah nashin—Arrival of the Dewan—The Maharajah's entry—The Sons' Salute—A chivalrous Indian custom—Nuzzurs—The Dewan's task—The Maharani—An Indian reformer—Bramo Samaj—Pretty princesses—An informal banquet—The nautch—A moonlight ride—The Maharajah—A soldier and a sportsman—Cooch Behar—The palace—A dinner-party—The heir's birthday celebrations—Schoolboys' sports—Indian amateur theatricals—An evening in the palace—A panther-drive—Exciting sport—Death of the panther—Partridge shooting on elephants—A stray rhinoceros—Prince Jit's luck—Friendly intercourse between Indians and Englishmen—An unjust complaint 213   CHAPTER XII A MILITARY TRAGEDY   In the Mess—A gloomy conversation—Murder in the army—A gallant officer—Running amuck on a rifle-range—"Was that a shot?"—The alarm—The native officer's report—The "fall in"—A dying man—A search round the fort—A narrow escape—The flight—Search parties—The inquiry into the crime—A fifty miles' cordon—An unexpected visit—Havildar Ranjit Singh on the trail—A night march through the forest—A fearsome ride—The lost detachment—An early start—The ferry—The prisoner—A well-planned capture—The prisoner's story—The march to Hathipota—Return to the fort—A well-guarded captive—A weary wait—A journey to Calcutta—The escort—Excitement among the passengers