"Yes. You believe me, that's what ole Black Sam is. I worked out a
plan to catch him, supposin' I could find where he put up in the
daytime, and what path he took on setting out in the night, for you know
these critturs in the woods don't go along anyhow, but follow paths jes'
as you or me would, and some of these paths they're more fond of than
others. Well, I kep' watch on that ole man baboon, and when I see him
strolling along outside the kloof I up and follered him. He knew, bless
you, what I was after, and the way he led me into the dark of that kloof
was a caution; so silent he went, and so careful to take the proper
track. Bymby he stopped and pointed--yes, pointed with his finger at
the ground--then he jumped for a bough, and there he sat grinning an'
working his eyebrows. Well, blow me, ef there wer'n't a spoor of the
tiger where he pointed, and squinting along through the underbush I see
a clean walk which the tiger had made--the sides of the trees worn
smooth and the ground jes' trodden down. That was enough. So I went
home and made a pill of meat, with enough poison in it to kill a museum
full of stuffed critturs. Nex' morning I went down, and if that baboon
hadn't a almost stopped me by force I'd a run bang into that tiger."
"Was he dead?"
"Dead! Thunderation! he was jes' lying full-stretched for a spring from
a tree branch jes' above where I laid that pill, awaiting for me to come
along. The baboon jes' invited me to climb a tree, and looking through
the leaves, I spotted that black devil, with his tail a-switching and
a-jerking. I jes' climbed down, and slipped off like a shadder, with my
heart in my boots. Well, I did some thinking. You know cats is fond of
certain smells, so is dogs--only dogs is not so dainty as cats. It's
jes' the same with a tiger, and he's got a nose for a partickler herb
which he rubs his head into. I dug up one of these year herbs, and I
fixed it up fine, jes' over the spring of a big man trap. Then, it
being near dusk, I climbed into a yeller wood, and waited for Black Sam
to walk up and put his foot into the jaws of that trap; but the dark
came before he did, and then I wasn't going to trust myself in the
wood--so there I stuck, with the stiffness in all my bones, till the
morning. By gum! it were skeery work, sittin' up there with the wind
moaning over the tree, and sounds of creeping things all aroun'. Then,
blame me! the first thing I clapped eyes on in the morning was that
black crittur standing there in the path, staring at that scent bush
'sif it were somethin' to be suspicious about instead of a nice smellin'
bottle. There he stood like a dark shadder, working his nose for maybe
half an hour, when he walked all around, finally sitting down on his
tail with a pucker between his eyes jes'sif he were thinking. Yes, he
sat there working his brain; then up he stood, looked about for a
spell--then, I'm hanged, if he didn't pick up a dry stick in his mouth
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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