Now I knew why the crickets had ceased their chorus so abruptly. They had heard the first roars of the tiger that had been inaudible to me because of the din they were making. Only after they had stopped was I able to hear him. But what had the man-eater to do with crickets? Why should they fear him? I fell to wondering at the answer to this question. It intrigued me so much that I decided to put it to a friend of mine in Madras, who is a naturalist. The answer, as I found out later, is a simple one, and I shall tell you about it before I end this story.