That you
should face a great tiger without hesitation, and slay him, shows how
firm your courage is; and the quickness was still more to be admired.
No doubt there are many others there who, to gain the favour of the
sultan, would have risked their lives; but you alone of them were
quick enough to carry it out."
"We were nearest to the spot, Pertaub. Had we been among the crowd
farther back, we could have done nothing."
"Let praise be given where it is due," Surajah said. "I had nothing to
do with the affair. I saw the tiger bound through the window, and
heard screams, and stood frozen with horror. I did not even see my
lord cut through the net. I knew nothing, until he seized me by the
arm and pulled me after him; and it was not until he sprang upon my
back, and then upon my shoulders, that I knew what he was going to do.
I simply aided in despatching the tiger when he sprang, wounded, down
into the courtyard."
"And yet you are a hunter and a soldier," Pertaub said. "This is how
it is that the English have become lords of so wide a territory. They
are quick. While we hesitate, and spend great time in making up our
minds to do anything, they decide and act in a moment. They are always
ready, we are always slow.
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