"He was in the drawing-room alone, and as he was standing at one side of
the room looking at a picture on the walls, he heard a noise behind him,
and found, on looking round, that a sofa which generally lay against
one of the walls had been lifted by some unknown power into the middle
of the room, at the same time he saw an animal like a rabbit run from
under the sofa across the room and disappear into the wall. He searched
everywhere for the animal, which could not have escaped from the room,
as the doors and window were closed, but was unable to find any sign of
one or any hole whereby one might have passed out." _The Psychic Faculty in Hares and Rabbits_

Hares and rabbits are very susceptible to the superphysical, the
presence of which they scent in the same manner as do horses and dogs. I have known them to evince the greatest symptoms of terror when brought
into a haunted house. CHAPTER VI

INHABITANTS OF THE JUNGLE


_Elephants, Lions, Tigers, etc._

Elephants undoubtedly possess the faculty of scenting spirits in a very
marked degree. It is most difficult to get an elephant to pass a spot
where any phantasm is known to appear. The big beast at once comes to a
halt, trembles, trumpets, and turning round, can only be urged forward
by the gentlest coaxing. Jungles are full of the ghosts of slain men and animals, and afford more
variety in hauntings than any other localities. The spirits of such
cruel creatures as lions, tigers, leopards, are very much earth-bound,
and may be seen or heard night after night haunting the sites of their
former depredations. The following case of a tiger ghost was narrated to me years ago by a
gentleman whom I will style Mr. De Silva, P.W.D. I published his account
in a popular weekly journal, as follows:--


_The White Tiger_

"Tap! tap! tap. Someone was coming behind me. I halted, and in the
brilliant moonlight saw a figure hobbling along--first one thin leg,
then the other, always with the same measured stride--accompanied with
the same tapping of the stick. I had no wish for his company, though the
road was lonely, and I feared the presence of tigers, so I hurried on,
and the faster I went, the nearer he seemed to come. Tap! tap! tap! The
man was blind and a leper, and so repulsively ugly that the niggers on
the settlement regarded him with superstitious awe. I had a horror of
tigers, but of lepers even greater. And I loved my wife with no ordinary
love. So I hurried on, and he followed quickly after me. "The night was brilliant, even more so, I thought, than was ordinary,
and the very brilliancy made me fear, for my shadow, the shadow of the
trees, shadows for which I had no name, flickered across the road, were
lost to sight to return again, and the jungle was getting nearer. The
open country on either side ceased, one by one tall blades of jungle
grass shook their heads in the gentle breeze, and the silence of the
darkness beyond began to make itself felt. A night bird whizzed past me,
croaking out a dismal incantation from its black throat; something at
which I did not care to look clattered from under a stone I loosened
with my foot, and sped into the shade, and I hastened on. "Tap! tap! tap! Faster and faster, and faster came the blind man. I
could smell the oil on his body, hear his breathing. "'Whoever you are, sahib, stop!' "There was fear in his voice as he whined out these words, a fear which
increased my own; but I pretended not to hear, and pressed on faster. "The darkness grew; high over my head at either side of the road waved
the grass, rustling to and fro, and singing to sleep the insects
nestling on its green stalks with its old-time song of the jungle. "The grass ahead of me slowly parted; my heart beat quicker, the tapping
behind me ceased--it was only some small animal. What was it? A small
hyaena? No. A jackal, a lame jackal, and it looked at me from out of
eyes that for some reason or other made me shiver. I did not know what
there was about the jackal that was different from what I had seen in
any other jackal, but there was a something. And as I looked at it in
awe, it vanished--melted into thin air. "The moment after a second jackal appeared just where the other one had
been standing, but there was nothing remarkable about this one, and on
my bending down, pretending to look for a stone to throw at it, it slunk
back silently and stealthily whence it had come, and I hurried on
faster than ever, knowing a tiger was near at hand. "Tap! tap! tap! I blessed the presence of the blind man. "'For God's sake, sahib, stop! For the love of Allah, sahib, stop!' (You
know how they talk, O'Donnell.) 'The jackals, did you see them? I knew
them by their smell, the smell of the living and of the dead. Walk with
me, sahib, for Allah's sake.' "Presently, O'Donnell, I heard a heavier rustling in the grass than the
wind makes; a rustling that kept pace with me and went along by my side,
never halting, but faster and faster, and faster. "A short distance ahead of me was a patch of bright light, where the
cross-roads met. A few yards more and the jungle grass would end. "I thought of this, O'Donnell--the beggar might not know the road so
well as I. He had no wife, no child; he was a leper, only a leper--and
my teeth chattered. "Here the Colonel paused and wiped his forehead. "I slackened my speed, the rustling by my side slowing down, and the
tapping grew faster. I was close to the whitened road. "'Sahib, the blessing of Allah be on you for stopping. Sahib, let me
walk by your side.' "(To the end of my days, O'Donnell, I shall never forgive myself, and
yet I want you to understand it was for my wife--and child.) I slunk
into the shade. Two steps more and the tapping would pass me. The stick
struck the ground within one inch of my foot; my heart almost ceased to
beat; I gazed in fascination at the spot in the jungle opposite. The
heavy rustling had stopped; only the gentle sighing of the wind went on. The two steps were taken, the blind man paused on the cross-roads. He
was ghastly in the moonlight. I shuddered. His eyes peered enquiringly
round on all sides; he was looking for me; he had lost his way; he
feared the tiger. "Suddenly something huge shot like an arrow from the darkness opposite
me. I bowed my head, O'Donnell, and muttered a prayer, for I thought my
end had come. "A terrible scream rang out in the clear night air. I was saved. "'Allah curse you and yours, sahib.' "I opened my eyes; an enormous tiger was bending over the leper,
searching for the most convenient spot in his body to afford a tight
grip. "The man's sightless eyes were turned towards the moon, his teeth shone
white and even; with the striped horror purring in his face, he thought
of vengeance on me. "I dared not move. I could not pass, O'Donnell. I had no gun. The big
brute found a nice place to catch hold. It opened its mouth so that I
could see its glistening teeth.