The Moghul

Hawksworth's and Nadir Sharif’s elephants, and they joined the end of the procession.
    Hawksworth held firmly to the side of the howdah as his elephant rocked along, with only occasional instructions from her mahout. Now they followed a winding road, which was surrounded on either side by tall, brown grass. He warily studied every sway of the grass, imagining tigers waiting to spring.
    "Why don't we have guns?" He turned to Nadir Sharif, who rode alongside, rocking placidly in his swaying howdah.
    "There's no need, Ambassador. I told you the tiger will not be killed with guns today. Of course, His Majesty and Prince Allaudin have guns, but they're merely for protection, in case there's some minor difficulty."
    "Minor difficulty? What are we supposed to do if there's a 'minor difficulty'?"
    "The army will be there, men with half-pikes." He smiled easily. "You're in no danger."
    Ahead the woods seemed to open up, and the grass was shorter, perhaps only as high as a man's waist. Deer darted wildly from side to side, contained by high nets that had been erected around the sides of the clearing. As they approached, Hawksworth saw a long line of several hundred water buffalo waiting, heavy bovine animals with thick curved horns dipping back against their heads, each fitted with a leather saddle and reined by a rider on its back. The reins, which passed through the buffalo's nostrils, were held in one hand by a mounted soldier, whose other hand grasped a naked broadsword.
    "Those men may well be the bravest soldiers in the army." Nadir Sharif pointed to the riders, who were all saluting Arangbar's arrival. "Theirs is a task I do not envy."
    "What do they do?"
    "You will see for yourself, Ambassador, in just a few moments."
    From beyond the other side of the clearing, as though on an agreed signal, came the sound of beaters. As the Imperial elephants drew near the gray line of buffalo, their riders began to urge them ahead. The buffalo snorted, knowing what waited in the grass, and then they lumbered forward, tossing their heads in disquiet. The line of buffalo was curved in the shape of a half-moon, and Arangbar urged his elephant directly behind them. The grass ahead swarmed with frightened game, as deer and antelope dashed against the nets and were thrown back, and from the woods beyond, the clatter and shouts of the beaters increased.
    Suddenly from out of the grass a tawny head appeared, with gold and black stripes and heavy whiskers. The animal dashed for the side of the enclosure, sprang for freedom, and was thrown back by the heavy net. Hawksworth watched it speechless, unprepared for the size and ferocity of an Indian tiger. It was enormous, with powerful haunches and a long striped tail. The tiger flipped to its feet and turned to face the line of buffalo with an angry growl.
    Arangbar clapped his hands with delight and shouted in Urdu to the line of riders, all—Hawksworth now realized— Rajputs. The buffalo snorted and tried to turn back, but their riders whipped them forward. The tiger assumed a crouching stalk along the gray, horned wall, eyeing a large dark buffalo with a bearded rider. Then it sprang.
    The buffalo's head went down, and when it came up a heavy curved horn had pierced the tiger's neck. There was a snort and a savage toss of the head that flung the wounded tiger upward. As it whirled in the air, Hawksworth saw a deep gash across its throat. The Rajput riders nearby slipped to the ground and formed a wall of swords between Arangbar and the tiger as the line of buffalo closed in, bellowing for the kill. In what seemed only moments the tiger was horned and pawed to a lifeless pulp.
    "Superb!" Arangbar shouted something to the enclosed howdah that Hawksworth did not understand. "A hundred gold mohurs to every man on the line."
    The Rajputs remounted their buffalo, retrieving the reins from the bloody grass, and the line again moved forward.
    "This is a variation on His Majesty's usual tiger hunt," Nadir Sharif shouted through the dust, above the din of bellowing buffalo and trumpeting elephants. "Often he shoots, but today His Majesty elected merely to watch. Actually, animal fights have long been a favorite pastime in India."
    At that moment a pair of tigers emerged from the grass and stared at the approaching line of buffalo. They did not seem frightened, as had the first, and they watched the line coolly, as though selecting a strategy. Then they dropped into a crouching stalk, moving