Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/401545
S P O R T I N G C L A S S I C S 4 2 kills by the man-eater. It was during this time that two young men from Bodali village had gone off on a drinking party and were returning home from the Balliguda market. Since alcohol tends to exaggerate bravery as well as to dull common sense and good judgment, the two headed for home, despite full knowledge of the man-eater being in the area. Upon reaching the banks of the Kalepin River, one of the drinking duet decided he was unable to proceed farther and said he would lie down for a nap. Unable to carry his companion, the older of the two decided to go on alone and planned to send someone back for his inebriated drinking partner as soon as he reached the village. Upon reaching his home and explaining what had happened, the drunk was chastised for being out alone when he might well have become a victim of the man-eater. Several men soon left for the Kalepin River to bring the other man back to the village. They carried axes and flaming torches to protect themselves and light their way in the dark jungle. Arriving at the spot on the riverbank that had been identified to them, they searched and called but could find no one. In the light of the torches someone soon saw a glint of reflection from an axe next to an empty liquor bottle. No one said it out loud, but the realization of what might have happened entered several heads simultaneously. Spreading out, one of the men came across a blood-soaked dhoti, which had belonged to the missing man. No further examination was required for the entire group to realize that the man-eater had claimed another victim. Knowing they could do nothing further to help, the two men ran as fast as possible to the village to alert everyone and make their gruesome discovery known. A larger group now quickly formed to return to the area to locate the body. On the riverbank, the tracks of a leopard were soon found. Lying nearby was a small, tin mirror case, which was quickly identified as belonging to the missing man. Knowing that they could do little more in the dark and knowing the danger they themselves were in, the group returned to the village with the intention of resuming the search as soon as it was light enough to see. I was still sound asleep that morning, unaware of what had happened at Bodali village. A messenger pounded on my door, awakening me, and breathlessly informed me of what had happened to the drunken reveler the night before. Quickly dressing, I asked the messenger who was accompanied by some Bodali village men to return to the place of the kill, adding that I would join them as soon as I could get my gear together. I had a bicycle for transportation and was shortly at the place where the road crossed the river. The men escorted me to where the mirror case and the dhoti cloth had been found. Strangely, we found tracks of both a tiger and a leopard, which momentarily confused the search. Soon, however, I located the place where the death struggle had occurred. A large stain of blood still was visible and the tracks of the leopard were without question those of the killer. The tiger had only been an innocent traveler through the area, either before or soon after the attack. The question remained: Were these the tracks of the same leopard as the one that had killed Jadu Manji at the bus stop a few days before? It seemed likely that they were, since I'd never heard of two man-eaters operating in the same place at the same time. While I contemplated the scene of the attack, a langur started calling from the nearby hillside. Some of the village men went to investigate and soon I heard shouts of "Come quickly, Sahib!" Rushing to the site, we pushed through the circle of men who were staring at what little was left of the unfortunate man. As in the other killing, the man-eater had eaten part of the stomach, chest and viscera. There was much flesh still remaining on the body, so the village headman and I decided to sit up over the kill, hoping that the man-eater would return. We sent my tracker and the men from the village back to the road to wait for us, saying we would only stay until sundown. I told them to make noise on leaving so the leopard would think the entire group had departed. We selected a comfortable spot at the base of a large thorn bush some 40 yards up the hill from the body. We had a clear field of vision, and I felt the thorn bush would give us reasonable protection from an unwanted attack from the rear. We only intended to stay as long as there was sufficient light to shoot since I had not brought a flashlight and also did not relish a nighttime sit-up on the ground with the man-eater about. About a half-hour before sundown we began to hear clearly audible noises coming from our left, quickly closing the distance between us. We were amazed the man-eater would be so reckless as to approach in this manner, apparently taking no precaution whatsoever. I had never before experienced such an audacious