Biff saw that happen as he looked up from behind the wheel. Now, the tiny circle of light was focused just behind the tiger's ear. Again, the rifle spoke. The tiger's whole body came forward, but not in a lunge. Instead, its quarter-ton of dead weight landed across the jeep's hood, crushing it down upon the motor. Then the striped body rolled to the ground, where the sharp beam picked it out again, probing it from head to tail.
No further shots were necessary. Biff came up shakily behind the wheel, found that the jeep would still run, and backed it so the headlights shone full on the tiger. The creature not only was motionless; its odd, distorted pose proved that life had left it.
Barma Shah came down from his platform, bringing the rifle with the thing that looked like a telescopic sight above the barrel. Only it wasn't a telescopic sight; it was a special flashlight powered by multiple batteries and focused down to almost a needle-beam.
"I knew I might need this," declared Barma Shah, "so I tested it last night, at just the right range. The light is the rifle's sight." He lifted the gun, pointed it up into the trees and picked out the top step leading to the platform that he had just left. "Just spot your target, pull the trigger, and that's it."
"That was it," complimented Biff, "but it took a good cool hand and steady nerves to do it."
Barma Shah's ragged features spread into a broad smile. He suggested that instead of going back to the village, the boys accompany him to the hunting lodge at Keewal. Biff accepted the invitation, but Chandra wanted to return to Supari to give the villagers a first-hand account of his harrowing experience in the cage. Naturally, he needed Kamuka to support his testimony, so Barma Shah agreed to pick them up at Supari in the morning.
The Keewal hunting lodge impressed Biff immensely, as it was equipped with all modern conveniences including air conditioning. It also had a telephone, to which Barma Shah gestured, as soon as he and Biff were alone. Then, with a broad, pleased smile, he declared:
"I talked with Calcutta by long distance this afternoon. You will be glad to know that Diwan Chand and his gatekeeper, Nathu, came out all right. Nobody was after them."
Biff grinned, then became serious. "I know that," he said. "They were after me—and this."
Biff brought out the watertight container. From it, he took the chamois bag, then the jewel case, finally, the huge, glowing ruby. He handed the jewel to Barma Shah, who studied it as though he had seen it often. Then, as the stone's glint suddenly became more vivid, Biff added, "Diwan Chand said its sparkle showed that the charm was working well. But you had a lot to do with that tonight."