Page 81 of The Girl from the Tea Garden
By the time they’d swung down the rope ladders, Wesley was already waiting for them. Adela, weak-kneed with shock, fell into her father’s arms. He rounded on Sanjay.
‘What were you doing in my daughter’s machan? Can’t you see how you put her in danger with your arguing? You drew the tiger’s attention.’
‘I shot the tigress straight in the neck,’ Jay retorted. ‘She’s mortally wounded. If we send in the shikaris, I bet we’ll find her lying dead on the ridge.’
‘She didn’t look like she was dying to me.’
‘Well, we’ll see, won’t we?’ Jay challenged.
‘We’re not sending anyone after her now,’ Wesley said. ‘It’s almost sunset.’
‘I’m in charge of the shikar, not you,’ Jay rebuffed him.
‘Well, you shouldn’t be putting any of your men in danger.’
‘Please, Jay,’ Adela intervened with a hand on his arm. ‘Let’s leave it till tomorrow. Then you can come back and claim her as yours.’
Jay flicked her a look, then turned to Wesley with a smile of satisfaction.
‘You have a very persuasive daughter, MrRobson. For her I will do anything.’
They returned to the elephants, Adela aware of her father fuming at Jay’s taunting remarks.
‘Ride back with me, Adela,’ Jay commanded.
‘She will come in my howdah,’ said Wesley angrily.
‘I will ride alone on Rose,’ Adela said, tired of being fought over. How she longed to be back at camp and have a cool bath. Rafi and the Raja would bring peace and conviviality to the fractious hunting party.
Wesley fussed as she climbed into the howdah. ‘I can manage myself,’ she said irritably.
They set off back down the ravine and through the jungle, Rose leading the procession. Within a short while darkness fell as quickly as a curtain. The moon came up. They emerged into the clearing by the village; the temporary camp was gone, and small oil lamps glowed in the doorways of huts. The air was filled with the acrid smoke of cooking fires. Adela felt herself relax in the balmy evening.
The line of elephants plodded on through the trees and emerged on to the sandy riverbank. They were about half an hour’s journey from camp. Something caught Adela’s eye: a flicker of movement in the moonlight. She heard a strange spitting sound and then all of a sudden the tigress was there in front of Rose. Its face was bloodied; Jay must have hit it in the mouth. The beast opened its shattered jaws and roared. The next second the tigress was springing at the elephant. It clawed at Rose’s trunk. The elephant bellowed in pain and tried to shake it off. Adela screamed. Behind, Wesley’s elephant trumpeted in fright.
The mahout shouted a warning. He clung on to Rose’s neck and ears as the elephant bucked and tried to escape its attacker.
‘What’s happening?’ bellowed Wesley.
Adela was too terrified to answer. The howdah tilted dangerously, almost throwing Adela out. She screamed again and grabbed frantically to the sides of the basket. The air was filled with the snarling and roars of the demented tigress; it held on, sinking its remaining teeth into the elephant’s hide.
‘Help me, Dad!’ Adela managed to shriek. ‘Shoot it!’
Rose fought with the tigress, trying to stamp on its hind legs, thrashing from side to side. All at once Rose reared up, and the howdah tipped backwards, hurling Adela out. She landed on the ground with a dizzying thud; pain shot through her shoulder. She tried to get up; Rose’s back feet could crush her at any moment. Screams, shouting, snarling and trumpeting rang out in the dark. Adela whimpered in terror.
Suddenly her father was there beside her.
‘Stay down,’ he barked. Then he took aim and fired. The deafening shot made her ears ring.
Wesley fired again. The tigress roared in fury and fell from the elephant. Rose bolted, with the mahout clinging on with all his might.
‘Someone hold up a torch!’ Wesley ordered as he frantically tried to reload. In that moment the wounded tigress leapt at him. Adela was so close she heard the claws rip into her father’s bush shirt. He jammed his rifle sideways into her bloodied maw. She thrust him backwards, pawing at him like a kitten with a rag doll. Wesley howled.
‘Jay, do something!’ Adela screamed, scrambling towards her father.
In the flickering of flaming torchlight, Jay stood up high in his howdah. ‘Roll out of the way!’ he shouted at her.
Adela curled up small. Gunfire. The tigress gave a final furious snarl and fell back. There was shouting and confusion, the mahouts trying to control their agitated elephants while torch-bearing shikaris made sure the tigress was dead. Adela, panting and sobbing, crawled to her father.
