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sir. We can’t say. He is here, there and everywhere. We think he is a devil and has wings and not an ordinary creature. We saw him only once ... We would have burnt him with the torches and cooked him alive but he escaped. He slips in and out, and can never be caught or killed ... He is no ordinary creature. Before we can notice, he snatches away even the biggest buffalo, and vanishes.’
    ‘He is an ordinary tiger, black and yellow, with four legs and only one tail and no extraordinary creature. I’ll deal with him, don’t worry. I’ll see you on Thursday next ...’
    He took directions from them to reach the village, and was with them on the appointed day. The village was set far into the jungle, a single street and about thirty homes of bricks or just thatched huts, and a lot of cattle and sheep - mostly a pastoral community. He had gone in a small car, but he had to leave it on the main highway and walk down to the village, which was full of excitement. Women and children stood around him. Most of the men were out working in the fields. Seeing Captain’s grey uniform, the boys cried, ‘The police have come,’and ran around to fetch the men, who recognized him and cried, ‘Oh, it’s our hunter, who is going to kill the tiger.’
    Captain corrected them. ‘I’m not going to kill, but take him away ...’Some rushed into their homes and brought out ancient stools and benches and offered him seats. Some brought him tender coconut and chipped off the top and offered him a drink. Others brought him papaya and banana. Captain felt overwhelmed by their hospitality and promised, ‘I will see that you are not bothered by the tiger. But you must all help me. I must know where he is and how he comes and goes and where he keeps himself during the day.’
    ‘Oh, that’s difficult, sir. If we follow him, he may turn round and attack.’
    ‘If you don’t tell me where the tiger is, how can I catch him? I may also begin to think, like those officials, that you are all fancying the tiger.’
    At this they protested. ‘Even two days ago, two fellows who were out to cut wood were mutilated - one fellow lost an arm.’
    ‘Will you take me to him?’
    ‘Not in our village, but there on the other side of the hillock...’
    ‘Will you come with me and show me the man and where he was attacked, so that I may find out the tiger’s movements?’Strangely they seemed to be averse to this procedure. The victims of the tiger seemed as elusive as the tiger itself. They would complain and pour forth their grievances, but somehow at the same time show reluctance to help him directly. They would not be explicit about the attacks. But Captain would not give up. He changed his tactics. He contacted the forest guards, offered a fee for information about the tiger, followed their tips. Leaving much of his circus work to his chief executive, he unrelentingly pursued the tiger, and finally arrived at the rivulet beyond which was the cave at the tail end of the Mempi range. Captain had taken special precautions to camouflage himself with certain types of foliage. He hoisted himself onto the branch of a tree and stayed there all night in the company of the forest guards, and finally had a glimpse of the tiger returning to his cave.
     
Although I was cautious and avoided all the traps laid for me, ultimately I yielded to a temptation, and that proved to be the end. After trying many hideouts, I had come back to my original home.
    As I emerged from my lair late one evening, passing through the long grass, I heard a bleating and, following the sound, saw a well-fed goat in front of me. I hesitated only for a moment, looked about, took a leap and landed on its back. At the same time I heard a strange, unfamiliar clattering noise - an iron door came down and shut me in. I was trapped. I was at once surrounded by unfamiliar figures and heard strange voices. A flashlight was pointed at me and a man was saying, ‘Just what I was looking for. A