She stared down at the animal.
"Yes; but it's well to be careful. I've seen a tiger look as dead as that and yet spring up and maul a man who approached it incautiously," she said.
She raised her rifle and covered the prostrate animal.
"Throw something at it," she continued.
Wargrave took out a couple of heavy, copper-cased cartridges and flung them one by one at the tiger's head, striking it on the jaw and in the eye. The animal did not move.
"Seems dead enough," said the girl, lowering her rifle. "Here come the beaters."
The other elephants had now burst out in line through the scrub. Their mahouts shouted enquiries to Gul Dad and when they heard of the tiger's death cheered gleefully, for it meant backsheesh to them. Badshah was seen to be searching for a way down into the nullah and in a few minutes brought his passengers up alongside Miss Benson and the subaltern. Her father and Dermot congratulated the girl warmly; and the latter, having made Badshah kick the tiger to make certain that it was dead, dismounted and examined it.
"Here's your shot, Wargrave," he said, pointing to a hole in the belly. "A bit too low, but it made a nasty wound that would have killed the beast eventually."
"I'm so ashamed of missing it with my second barrel, sir," said the subaltern. "But for Miss Benson I'd have been a gone coon."
"Yes, it certainly looked exciting enough from our side of the nullah," said the Colonel, smiling; "so what must it have been like from where you were? Well, anyhow it's your tiger."