"This is a bad place for tigers," broke in Me Dain. "Very bad place. Three Chinamen killed here four months ago." "How was that, Me Dain?" asked Jack. "Nobody know," returned the Burman. "Three diggers going up to the hills to look for rubies. Make camp on little creek not a mile from here. Somebody pass the camp next day and see one man dead. Then they look, and see pieces of the other men in the jungle. Me forgot that, running from Kachins." "Never mind, Me Dain," said Jim Dent. "Don't worry about that. A 'bad' tiger is a very awkward brute to run up against, but a bunch of Kachins is a more desperate case still. Hallo, he's pretty close. Hold the ponies tight, Me Dain. They're ready to bolt." The little creatures were now frantic with fear, and the Burman had all his work cut out to keep them in hand. "Look there! Look there!" cried Jack. "What's that straight in front of us?" He had been staring hard into the blackness of the jungle, and now, all of a sudden, two bright green flames seemed to start up in the gloom. "That's a tiger just stepped from behind a tree," murmured Jim. "Stand steady, boys, and don't let anybody loose off in any too much hurry." "There's another, and another," said Jack. In swift succession two fresh pairs of gleaming eyes were seen. Me Dain gave a groan of terror. "Old tiger and two little ones," he said in a low voice. He was much more terrified of tigers than of dacoits. "Say, he's got it quite straight," said Buck. "It's a tigress and a pair of cubs. The eyes of the last couple are nearer the ground." It was so dark in the jungle which surrounded them that no sign of the bodies of the savage creatures could be seen, only the eyes, which burned upon them with a fierce, steady gaze. "It's a family party," said Jim. "Where's the old man tiger? It was his call we heard, certainly." At this moment the tigress gave tongue. She let out a horrible whining snarl, full of ferocity and threat. In an instant her call was answered. Somewhere near at hand in the jungle arose a terrible sound which seemed to fill the air and shake the earth, a sound which made the blood run cold. It was the horrible coughing roar of a charging tiger. "Here he comes," said Jim in a low voice, and Jack clutched his rifle tightly. CHAPTER XV. IN THE JUNGLE. A moment later, and a fresh pair of burning eyes was added to the group in the jungle. "Shout, shout, or he spring," cried Me Dain.