The mucharn which fell to my share was that upon the right flank when facing the beat; this was in the open glade opposite a projecting corner of the jungle. On the left, about 70 yards distant, was a narrow strip of bush connected with the jungle, about 4 yards wide, which terminated in a copse about 30 yards in diameter; beyond this was open glade for about 40 yards width until it bounded the main forest at the foot of the hill-range. We took our places, and I was assured by the shikaris that the tiger would probably break covert exactly in my front. It is most uncomfortable for a European to remain squatted in a mucharn for any length of time; the limbs become stiffened, and the cramped position renders good shooting anything but certain. I have a simple wooden turnstool, which enables me to shoot in any required direction; this is most comfortable. I had adjusted my stool upon a thick mat to prevent it from slipping, and having settled myself firmly, I began to examine the position to form an opinion concerning the most likely spot for the tiger to emerge from the jungle. The beat had commenced, and the shouts and yells, of a long line of 150 men were gradually becoming more distinct. Several peacocks ran across the open glade: these birds are always the forerunners of other animals, as they are the first to retreat. Presently I heard a rustle in the jungle, and I observed the legs of a sambur deer, which, having neared the edge, now halted to listen to the beaters before venturing to break from the dense covert. The beaters drew nearer, and a large doe sambur, instead of rushing quickly forward, walked slowly into the open, and stood within 10 yards of me upon the glade. She waited there for several minutes, and then, as if some suspicion had suddenly crossed her mind, gave two or three convulsive bounds and dashed back to the same covert from which she had approached. It struck me that the sambur had got the wind of an enemy, otherwise she would not have rushed back in such sudden haste; she could not have scented me, as I was 10 or 12 feet above the ground, and the breeze was aslant . . . . Then, if a tiger were in the jungle, why should she dash back into the same covert ?