exactly through the centre of the blade-bone, the tiger will fall dead, as the heart will be shattered, and both shoulders will be broken. A shot close behind the shoulder will pass through the centre of the lungs, and death will be certain in about two minutes, but the animal will be able to inflict fatal injuries upon any person it may encounter during the first minute, before internal bleeding shall have produced complete suffocation. If the hunter is confident in the extreme accuracy of his rifle, a shot in the centre of the forehead rather above a line drawn across the eyes will ensure instant death. This is a splendid shot when the hunter sits upon an elevation and the tiger is approaching him; in that position he must be careful to aim rather high, as, should the bullet miss the forehead, it will then strike the spine at the junction of the neck; or if too high, it will break the spine between the shoulders; at any rate, the chances are all in favour of the rifle, whereas, should the aim be too low, the bullet might penetrate through the nose, and bury itself within the ground, merely wounding the animal instead of killing. Should the hunter be on foot, he must on the contrary aim low, exactly at the centre of the nose; if he is only one inch too high, the tiger may escape, as the bullet may pass over the head and back; but if the aim is low and the nose should be missed, the bullet will either break the neck, or regularly rake the animal by tearing its course through the chest and destroying the vitals in its passage along the body. In that case the .577 solid bullet of 650 grains and 6 drams of powder will produce an astonishing effect, and will completely paralyse the attack of any lion or tiger, thus establishing a thorough confidence in the heart of its proprietor. CHAPTER VI THE TIGER (continued)