The Tiger's Heart

By Jim Kjelgaard

1 The approaching jungle night was, in itself, a threat. As it deepened, an eerie silence
enveloped the thatched village. People were silent. Tethered cattle stood quietly. Roosting
chickens did not stir and wise goats made no noise. Thus it had been for countless centuries
and thus it would continue to be. The brown-skinned inhabitants of the village knew the
jungle. They had trodden its dim paths, forded its sulky rivers, borne its steaming heat, and
were intimately acquainted with its deer, tapir, crocodiles, screaming green parrots, and
countless other creatures.

2 That was the daytime jungle they could see, feel and hear, but at night everything became
different. When darkness came, the jungle was alive with strange and horrible things which
no man had ever seen and no man could describe. They were shadows that had no substance
and one was unaware of them until they struck and killed. Then, with morning, they changed
themselves back into the shape of familiar things. Because it was a time of the unknown,
night had to be a time of fear.

3 Except, Pepe Garcia reflected, to the man who owned a rifle. As the night closed in, Pepe
reached out to fondle his rifle and make sure that it was close beside him. As long as it was,
he was king.

4 That was only just, for the rifle had cost him dearly. With eleven others from his village,
Pepe had gone to help chop a right of way for the new road. They used machetes, the
indispensable long knife of all jungle dwellers, and they had worked hard. Unlike the rest,
Pepe had saved every peso he didn't have to spend for immediate living expenses. With his
savings, and after some haggling, he had bought his muzzle-loading rifle, a supply of powder,
lead, and a mold in which he could fashion bullets for his rifle.

5 Eighty pesos the rifle had cost him. But it was worth the price. Though the jungle at night
was fear itself, no man with a rifle had to fear. The others, who had only machetes with
which to guard themselves from the terrors that came in the darkness, were willing to pay
well for protection.

6 He did not know what awakened him, only that something was about. He listened intently,
but there was no change in the jungle's monotonous night sounds. Still, something was not as
it should be.

7 Then he heard it. At the far end of the village, near Juan Aria's hut, a goat bleated uneasily.
Silence followed. The goat bleated again, louder and more fearful. There was a pattering rush
of small hoofs, a frightened bleat cut short, again silence.

8 Pepe, who did not need to people the night with fantastic creatures because he owned a rifle,
interpreted correctly what he had heard. A tiger, a jaguar, had come in the night, leaped the
thorn fence with which the village was surrounded, and made off with one of Juan Aria's
goats.

9 Pepe went peacefully back to sleep. With morning, certainly, Juan Aria would come to him.
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10 He did not awaken until the sun was up. Then he emerged from his hut, breakfasted on a
papaya he had gathered the day before, and awaited his expected visitor. They must always
come to him; it ill befitted a man with a rifle to seek out anyone at all.

11 Presently Pepe saw two men, Juan Aria and his brother, coming up one of the paths that
wound through the village. Others stared curiously, but nobody else came because their
flocks had not been raided. They had no wish to pay, or to help pay, a hunter.

12 Pepe waited until the two were near, then he said, "Buenos dias."

13 "Buenos dias, "they replied.

14 They sat down in the sun, looking at nothing in particular, not afraid any more, because the
day was never a time of fear. By daylight, only now and again did a tiger come to raid a flock
of goats, or kill a burro or a cow.

15 After a suitable lapse of time, Juan Aria said, "I brought my goats into the village last night,
thinking they would be safe."

16 "And were they not?"

17 "They were not. Something came and killed one, a fine white and black nanny, my favorite.
When the thing left, the goat went too. Never again shall I see her alive."

18 "What killed your goat?" Pepe inquired.

19 "A devil, but this morning I saw only the tracks of a tiger."

20 "Did you hear it come?"

21 "I heard it"

22 "Then why did you not defend your flock?"

23 Juan Aria gestured with eloquent hands. "To attack a devil, or a tiger, with nothing but a
machete would be madness."

24 "That is true," Pepe agreed. "Let us hope that the next time it is hungry, this devil, or tiger,
will not come back for another goat"

25 "But it will!"

26 Pepe relaxed, for Juan Aria's admission greatly improved Pepe's bargaining position. And it
was true that, having had a taste of easy game, the tiger would come again. Only death would
end his forays, and since he knew where to find Juan Aria's goats, he would continue to
attack them.

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27 Pepe said, "That is bad, for a man may lose many goats to a tiger."

28 "Unless a hunter kills him," Juan Aria said.

29 "Unless a hunter kills him," Pepe agreed.

30 "That is why I have come to you, Pepe," Juan Aria said. A troubled frown overspread is face.
"I hope you will follow and kill this tiger, for you are the only man who can do so."

31 "It would give me pleasure to kill him, but I cannot work for nothing."

32 "Nor do I expect you to. Even a tiger will not eat an entire goat, and you are sure to find what
is left of my favorite nanny. Whatever the tiger has not eaten, you may have for your pay."

33 Pepe bristled, "You are saying that I should put myself and my rifle to work for carrion left
by a tiger?"

34 "No, no!" Juan Aria protested. "In addition I will give you one live goat!"

35 "Three goats."

36 "I am a poor man!" the other wailed. "You would bankrupt me!

37 "No man with twenty-nine goats is poor, though he may be if a tiger raids his flock a
sufficient number of times," Pepe said.

38 "I will give you one goat and two kids."

39 "Two goats and one kid.

40 "You drive a hard bargain," Juan Aria said, "but I cannot deny you now. Kill the tiger."

41 Affecting an air of nonchalance, as befitted the owner of a firearm, Pepe took his rifle from
the fine blanket upon which it lay when he was not carrying it. He looked to his powder horn
and bullet pouch, strapped his machete on, and sauntered toward Juan Aria's hut. A half-
dozen worshipful children followed.

42 "Be gone!" Pepe ordered.

43 They fell behind, but continued to follow until Pepe came to the place where Juan Aria's
flock had passed the night. He glanced at the dust, and saw the tiger's great paw marks
imprinted there. It was a huge cat, lame in the right front paw, or it might have been injured
in battle with another tiger.

44 Expertly, Pepe located the place where it had gone back over the thorn fence. Though the
tiger had carried the sixty-pound goat in its jaws, only a couple of thorns were disturbed at
the place where it has leaped.

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45 Though he did not look around, Pepe was aware of the villagers watching him and he knew
that their glances would be very respectful. Most of the men went into the jungle from time
to time to work with their machetes, but none would work where tigers were known to be.
No one would dare take a tiger's trail. Only Pepe dared and, because he did, he must be
revered.

46 Still affecting nonchalance, Pepe sauntered through the gate. Behind him, he heard the
village's collective sigh of mingled relief and admiration. A raiding tiger was a very real and
terrible threat, and goats and cattle were not easily come by. The man with a rifle, the man
able to protect them, must necessarily be a hero.

47 Once in the jungle, and out of the villagers' sight, Pepe underwent a transformation.

48 He shed his air of indifference and became as alert as the little doe that showed him only her
white tail. A rifle might be a symbol of power, but unless a man was also a hunter, a rifle did
him no good. Impressing the villagers was one thing; a tiger was quite another.

49 Pepe knew the great cats were dappled death incarnate. They could move with incredible
swiftness and were strong enough to kill an ox. They feared nothing.

50 Jungle-born, Pepe slipped along as softly as a jungle shadow. His machete slipped a little,
and he shifted it to a place where his legs would not be bumped. From time to time he
glanced at the ground before him.

51 To trained eyes, there was a distinct trail. It consisted of an occasional drop of blood from
the dead goat, a bent or broken plant, a few hairs where the tiger had squeezed between trees,
paw prints in soft places. Within the first quarter-mile Pepe knew many things about this
tiger.

52 He was not an ordinary beast, or he would have gone only far enough from the village so his
nostrils could not be assailed by its unwelcome scents and eaten what he wanted there, then
covered the remainder of the goat with sticks and leaves. He was not old, for his was not the
lagging gait of an old cat, with which he had leaped the thorn fence with a goat in his jaws
was evidence of his strength.

53 Pepe stopped to look to the loading and priming of his rifle. There seemed to be nothing
amiss, and there had better not be. When he saw the tiger, he must shoot straight and true.
Warned by some super jungle sense, Pepe slowed his pace. A moment later he found his
game.

54 He came upon it suddenly in a grove of scattered palms. Because he had not expected it there,
Pepe did not see it until it was nearer than safety allowed.

55 The tiger crouched at the base of a palm whose fronds waved at least fifty feet above the
roots. Both the beast's front paws were on what remained of the dead goat. It did not snarl or
grimace, or even twitch its tail. But there was a lethal quality about the great cat and an
extreme tension. The tiger was bursting with raw anger that seemed to swell and grow.

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56 Pepe stopped in his tracks and cold fear crept up his spine. But he did not give way to fear.
With deliberate, studied slowness he brought the rifle to his shoulder and took aim. He had
only one bullet and there would be no time to reload, but even a tiger could not withstand the
smash of that enormous leaden ball right between the eyes. Pepe steadied the rifle.

57 His finger tightened slowly on the trigger, for he must not let nervousness spoil his aim.
When the hammer fell, Pepes brain and body became momentarily numb.

58 There was no satisfying roar and no puff of black powder smoke wafting away from the
muzzle. Instead there was only a sudden hiss, as though cold water had spilled on a hot stone,
and the metallic click of the falling hammer. Pepe himself had loaded the rifle, but he could
not have done so correctly. Only the powder in the priming pan flashed.

59 It was the spark needed to explode the anger in the tigers lithe and deadly body. He emitted
a coughing snarl and launched his charge. Lord of the jungle, he would crush this puny man
who dared interfere with him.

60 Pepe jerked back to reality, but he took time to think of his rifle, leaning it lovingly against a
tree and in the same motion jerking his machete from its sheath.

61 It was now a hopeless fight, to be decided in the tigers favor, because not within the memory
of the villages oldest inhabitant had any man ever killed a tiger with a machete. But it was as
well to fight hopelessly, as to turn and run, for if he did that he would surely be killed. No
tiger that attacked anything was ever known to turn aside.

62 Machete in hand, Pepe studied the onrushing cat. He had read the tracks correctly; for from
pad to joint the tigers right front foot was swollen to almost twice the size of the other. It
must have stepped on a poisonous thorn or been bitten by a snake.

63 Even with such a handicap, a tiger was more than a match for a man armed only with a
machete but Pepe watched the right front paw carefully. If he had any advantage, it lay
there. Then the tiger, a terrible, pitiless engine of destruction, flung himself at Pepe. Pepe had
known from the first that the tigers initial strike would be exactly this one, and he was ready
for it. He swerved, bending his body outward as the great cat brushed past him. With all the
strength in his powerful right arm, he swung the machete. He stopped his downward stroke
just short of the tigers silken back, for he knew suddenly that there was just one way to end
this fight.

64 The tiger whirled, and hot spittle from his mouth splashed on the back of Pepes left hand.
Holding the machete before him, like a sword, he took a swift backward step. The tiger
sprang, launching himself from the ground as though his rear legs were made of powerful
steel springs, and coming straight up. His flailing left paw flashed at Pepe. It hooked in his
shirt, ripping it away from the arm as though it were paper, and burning talons sank into the
flesh. Red blood welled out.

65 Pepe did not try again to slash with the machete, but thrust, as he would have thrust with a
knife or sword. The machete's point met the tiger's throat, and Pepe put all his strength and
weight behind it. The blade explored its way into living flesh, and the tiger gasped. Blood
bubbled over the machete.
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66 With a convulsive effort, the tiger pulled himself away. But blood was rushing from his
throat now and he shook his head, then stumbled and fell. He pulled himself erect, looked
with glazing eyes at Pepe and dragged himself toward him. There was a throttled snarl. The
tiger slumped to the ground. The tip of his tail twitched and was still.

67 Pepe stared, scarcely seeing the blood that flowed from his lacerated arm. He had done the
impossible; he had killed a tiger with a machete. Pepe brushed a hand across his eyes and
took a trembling step forward.

68 He picked up his rifle and looked again to the priming. There seemed to be nothing wrong.
Repriming, Pepe clasped the rifle with his elbow and seized the machete's hilt. Bracing one
foot against the tiger's head, he drew the machete out

69 Then he held his rifle so close to the machete wound that the muzzle caressed the silken fur.
He pulled the trigger. The wound gaped wider and smoke-blackened fur fringed out. All
traces of the machete wound were obliterated. Pepe knew a second's anguished regret, then
steeled himself, for this is the way it must be.

70 Everybody had a machete. In his village, the man who owned a rifle must remain supreme.

El corazn del tigre

Por Jim Kjelgaard

1 La noche de la jungla que se aproximaba era, en s misma, una amenaza. A medida que se
profundizaba, un silencio misterioso envolvi a la aldea con techo de paja. La gente estaba en
silencio. El ganado atado estaba en silencio. Las gallinas dormidas no se movieron y las cabras
sabias no hicieron ningn ruido. As lo haba hecho durante incontables siglos y as continuara
siendo. Los habitantes de piel morena de la aldea conocan la jungla. Haban recorrido sus
caminos oscuros, vadeaban sus ros enfangados, soportaban su calor humeante, y estaban
ntimamente familiarizados con sus ciervos, tapires, cocodrilos, loros verdes y otras
innumerables criaturas.

2 Esa era la jungla diurna que podan ver, sentir y escuchar, pero por la noche todo se volva
diferente. Cuando lleg la oscuridad, la jungla estaba llena de cosas extraas y horribles que
ningn hombre haba visto y nadie poda describir. Eran sombras que no tenan sustancia y uno
no se dio cuenta de ellas hasta que golpearon y mataron. Luego, con la maana, cambiaron de
nuevo a la forma de cosas familiares. Debido a que era un tiempo de lo desconocido, la noche
tena que ser un tiempo de miedo.

3 Excepto, reflexion Pepe Garca, al hombre que posea un rifle. Cuando la noche se cerr, Pepe
se acerc para acariciar su rifle y asegurarse de que estaba cerca de l. Mientras lo fue, l era el
rey.

4 Eso fue solo porque el rifle le haba costado caro. Con otros once de su aldea, Pepe haba ido a
ayudar a cortar el paso a la nueva carretera. Usaban machetes, el cuchillo largo indispensable de
todos los habitantes de la jungla, y haban trabajado duro. A diferencia del resto, Pepe haba
ahorrado cada peso que no tena que gastar para gastos de vida inmediatos. Con sus ahorros, y

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despus de algunos regateos, haba comprado su rifle de carga, un suministro de plvora, plomo
y un molde en el que poda fabricar balas para su rifle.

5 Ochenta pesos que el rifle le haba costado. Pero vali la pena el precio. Aunque la jungla de la
noche era el miedo mismo, ningn hombre con un rifle tena que temer. Los otros, que solo
tenan machetes para protegerse de los terrores que surgan en la oscuridad, estaban dispuestos a
pagar bien por proteccin.

6 l no saba lo que lo haba despertado, solo que algo estaba a punto. Escuch atentamente, pero
no hubo cambios en los montonos sonidos nocturnos de la jungla. An as, algo no era como
debera ser.

7 Entonces lo escuch. En el otro extremo del pueblo, cerca de la choza de Juan Aria, una cabra
balbuceaba inquieta. El silencio sigui. La cabra volvi a balbucear, ms fuerte y ms temerosa.
Hubo una oleada de pequeos cascos, un balido asustado cortado, nuevamente silencio.

8 Pepe, que no necesitaba gente la noche con criaturas fantsticas porque era dueo de un rifle,
interpret correctamente lo que haba escuchado. Un tigre, un jaguar, haba venido en la noche,
salt la valla de espinas con la que estaba rodeada la aldea, y huy con una de las cabras de Juan
Aria.

9 Pepe volvi pacficamente a dormir. Con la maana, sin duda, Juan Aria vendra a l.
10 l no despert hasta que el sol sali. Luego sali de su choza, desayun una papaya que haba
reunido el da anterior y esper a su visitante esperado. Siempre deben acercarse a l; era
conveniente que un hombre con un rifle buscara a alguien en absoluto.

11 En ese momento, Pepe vio a dos hombres, Juan Aria y su hermano, que suban por uno de los
senderos que serpenteaban por el pueblo. Otros miraban con curiosidad, pero nadie ms vino
porque sus rebaos no haban sido atacados. No tenan ningn deseo de pagar, o ayudar a pagar,
a un cazador.

12 Pepe esper a que los dos estuvieran cerca, y luego dijo: "Buenos dias".

13 "Buenos das", respondieron.

14 Se sentaron al sol, sin mirar nada en particular, sin temor, porque el da nunca fue un
momento de miedo. A la luz del da, solo de vez en cuando un tigre vena a atacar una bandada
de cabras, o mataban a un burro o una vaca.

15 Despus de un lapso de tiempo adecuado, Juan Aria dijo: "Llev mis cabras a la aldea anoche,
pensando que estaran a salvo".

16 "Y no lo eran?"

17 "No lo fueron. Algo vino y mat a una, una niera blanca y negra, mi favorita. Cuando la cosa
se fue, la cabra tambin se fue. Nunca ms la ver viva".

18 "Qu mat a tu cabra?" Pepe pregunt.

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19 "Un demonio, pero esta maana solo vi las huellas de un tigre".

20 "Oste venir?"

21 "Lo escuch"

22 "Entonces, por qu no defendiste a tu rebao?"

23 Juan Aria hizo un gesto con manos elocuentes. "Atacar a un demonio, o un tigre, con nada
ms que un machete sera una locura".

24 "Eso es verdad", estuvo de acuerdo Pepe. "Esperemos que la prxima vez que tenga hambre,
este diablo, o tigre, no vuelva por otra cabra"

25 "Pero lo har!"

26 Pepe se relaj, porque la admisin de Juan Aria mejor enormemente la posicin negociadora
de Pepe. Y era cierto que, habiendo probado el juego fcil, el tigre vendra de nuevo. Solo la
muerte pondra fin a sus incursiones, y como saba dnde encontrar a las cabras de Juan Aria,
continuara atacndolos.

27 Pepe dijo: "Eso es malo, porque un hombre puede perder muchas cabras a un tigre".
28 "A menos que un cazador lo mate", dijo Juan Aria.

29 "A menos que un cazador lo mate", estuvo de acuerdo Pepe.

30 "Es por eso que he venido a ti, Pepe", dijo Juan Aria. Un exceso de ceo con problemas es la
cara. "Espero que sigas y mate a este tigre, porque eres el nico que puede hacerlo".

31 "Me dara placer matarlo, pero no puedo trabajar para nada".

32 "Tampoco espero que lo hagas. Incluso un tigre no se comer una cabra entera, y seguro que
encontrars lo que queda de mi niera favorita. Lo que sea que el tigre no haya comido, es
posible que tengas que pagarlo".

33 Pepe se enfureci: "Ests diciendo que debera ponerme a m y a mi rifle a trabajar para la
carroa dejada por un tigre?"

34 "No, no!" Juan Aria protest. "Adems te dar una cabra en vivo!"

35 "Tres cabras".

36 "Soy un hombre pobre!" el otro gimi. "Me llevaras a la bancarrota!"

37 "Ningn hombre con veintinueve cabras es pobre, aunque puede serlo si un tigre ataca a su
rebao una cantidad suficiente de veces", dijo Pepe.

38 "Te dar una cabra y dos nios".

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39 "Dos cabras y un nio".

40 "Usted maneja un trato difcil", dijo Juan Aria, "pero no puedo negarlo ahora. Matar al tigre".

41 Afectando un aire de indiferencia, como corresponda al propietario de un arma de fuego,

Pepe sac su rifle de la fina manta sobre la que yaca cuando no lo llevaba. Mir su cuerno de
plvora y su bolsa de balas, se at el machete y se dirigi hacia la cabaa de Juan Aria. Media
docena de nios adoradores siguieron.

42 "Ya te has ido!" Pepe orden.

43 Se quedaron atrs, pero continuaron hasta que Pepe lleg al lugar donde el rebao de Juan
Aria haba pasado la noche. Ech un vistazo al polvo y vio las grandes marcas de pata del tigre
impresas all. Era un gato enorme, cojo en la pata delantera derecha, o podra haber sido herido
en la batalla con otro tigre.

44 Perpectamente, Pepe localiz el lugar donde haba retrocedido sobre la valla de espinas.
Aunque el tigre haba llevado a la cabra de sesenta libras en sus mandbulas, solo un par de
espinas fueron molestadas en el lugar donde haba saltado.
45 Aunque no mir a su alrededor, Pepe se dio cuenta de que los aldeanos lo estaban mirando y
saba que sus miradas seran muy respetuosas. La mayora de los hombres entraban en la jungla
de vez en cuando para trabajar con sus machetes, pero ninguno trabajaba donde se saba que eran
los tigres. Nadie se atrevera a seguir el rastro de un tigre. Solo Pepe se atrevi y, como lo hizo,
debe ser reverenciado.

46 Todava afectando la indiferencia, Pepe se pase por la puerta. Detrs de l, oy el suspiro

colectivo de alivio y admiracin del pueblo. Un tigre atacante era una amenaza muy real y
terrible, y las cabras y el ganado no eran fciles de conseguir. El hombre con un rifle, el hombre
capaz de protegerlos, debe ser necesariamente un hroe.

47 Una vez en la jungla, y fuera de la vista de los aldeanos, Pepe sufri una transformacin.

48 Se despoj de su aire de indiferencia y se puso tan alerta como la pequea cierva que le
mostraba solo su cola blanca. Un rifle podra ser un smbolo de poder, pero a menos que un
hombre fuera tambin un cazador, un rifle no le servira de nada. Impresionar a los aldeanos era
una cosa; un tigre era completamente otro.

49 Pepe saba que los grandes felinos se haban encarnado en la muerte. Podan moverse con
increble rapidez y eran lo suficientemente fuertes como para matar a un buey. Ellos no temieron
nada.

Nacido en la selva, Pepe se desliz tan suavemente como una sombra de la jungla. Su machete
resbal un poco, y lo movi a un lugar donde no le golpearan las piernas. De vez en cuando
miraba el suelo frente a l.

51 Para los ojos entrenados, haba un rastro distinto. Consista en una gota ocasional de sangre de
la cabra muerta, una planta doblada o rota, algunos pelos donde el tigre se haba estrujado entre
los rboles, huellas de las patas en lugares blandos. Dentro del primer cuarto de milla, Pepe saba
muchas cosas sobre este tigre.
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No era una bestia ordinaria, o se alejara lo suficiente de la aldea para que sus olores no pudieran
ser asaltados por sus olores indeseables y comiera lo que quera all, y luego cubriera el resto de
la cabra con palos y hojas. No era viejo, porque su andar no era el paso lento de un gato viejo,
con el que haba saltado la valla de espinas con una cabra en sus mandbulas era una prueba de
su fuerza.

53 Pepe se detuvo a mirar hacia la carga y el cebado de su rifle. Pareca que no pasaba nada, y
mejor no existir. Cuando vio al tigre, debe disparar directo y verdadero. Advertido por un sentido
de sper jungla, Pepe redujo su ritmo. Un momento despus encontr su juego.

54 Se encontr con l de repente en un bosquecillo de palmas dispersas. Como no lo esperaba

all, Pepe no lo vio hasta que estuvo ms cerca de lo permitido por la seguridad.

55 El tigre se agazap en la base de una palma cuyas hojas ondeaban al menos a quince metros
por encima de las races. Las dos patas delanteras de la bestia estaban en lo que quedaba de la
cabra muerta. No gru ni hizo una mueca, ni siquiera movi la cola. Pero haba una calidad letal
sobre el gran gato y una tensin extrema. El tigre estaba lleno de ira cruda que pareca hincharse
y crecer.

55 El tigre se agazap en la base de una palma cuyas hojas ondeaban al menos a quince metros
por encima de las races. Las dos patas delanteras de la bestia estaban en lo que quedaba de la
cabra muerta. No gru ni hizo una mueca, ni siquiera movi la cola. Pero haba una calidad letal
sobre el gran gato y una tensin extrema. El tigre estaba lleno de ira cruda que pareca hincharse
y crecer.

56 Pepe se detuvo en seco y un miedo fro subi por su espina dorsal. Pero l no cedi al miedo.
Con deliberada lentitud estudiada, se llev el rifle al hombro y apunt. Solo tena una bala y no
habra tiempo para volver a cargarla, pero incluso un tigre no poda soportar el impacto de esa
enorme bola de plomo justo entre los ojos. Pepe estabiliz el rifle.

57 Su dedo se apret lentamente en el gatillo, porque no debe permitir que el nerviosismo

estropee su puntera. Cuando el martillo cay, el cerebro y el cuerpo de Pepe se entumecieron
momentneamente.

58 No hubo un rugido satisfactorio y ningn soplo de humo de plvora negra flotando desde el
can. En cambio, solo hubo un repentino silbido, como si se hubiera derramado agua fra sobre
una piedra caliente, y el chasquido metlico del martillo que caa. Pepe mismo haba cargado el
rifle, pero no podra haberlo hecho correctamente. Solo el polvo en la sartn de cebado brill.

59 Era la chispa necesaria para explotar la ira en el cuerpo gil y mortal del tigre. l emiti un
gruido de tos y lanz su carga. Seor de la jungla, aplastara a este hombre insignificante que se
atrevi a interferir con l.

60 Pepe volvi a la realidad, pero se tom su tiempo para pensar en su rifle, apoyndolo
amorosamente contra un rbol y en el mismo movimiento sacudiendo su machete de su funda.

61 Ahora era una pelea sin esperanza, decidida a favor del tigre, porque ni en la memoria del
habitante ms viejo del pueblo haba matado un tigre a ningn machete. Pero era mejor pelear
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desesperadamente, como dar media vuelta y huir, porque si lo haca, seguramente sera asesinado.
Nunca se supo que ningn tigre que atacara algo se desvi.

62 Machete en mano, Pepe estudi el gato que se precipitaba. l haba ledo las pistas
correctamente; de una almohadilla a otra, el pie delantero derecho del tigre estaba hinchado a
casi el doble del tamao del otro. Debe haber pisado una espina venenosa o haber sido mordido
por una serpiente.

Incluso con tal desventaja, un tigre era ms que un rival para un hombre armado solo con un
machete, pero Pepe miraba cuidadosamente la pata delantera derecha. Si tena alguna ventaja,
estaba all. Entonces el tigre, un terrible e implacable motor de destruccin, se arroj sobre Pepe.
Pepe saba desde el principio que el golpe inicial del tigre sera exactamente este, y estaba listo
para ello. Se desvi, doblando su cuerpo hacia afuera cuando el gran felino pas rozndolo. Con
toda la fuerza en su poderoso brazo derecho, movi el machete. Detuvo su golpe descendente
justo antes de la espalda de seda del tigre, porque de repente supo que haba una sola manera de
terminar esta pelea.

64 El tigre se gir, y saliva caliente de su boca salpic en la parte posterior de la mano izquierda
de Pepe. Sosteniendo el machete delante de l, como una espada, dio un rpido paso hacia atrs.
El tigre salt, lanzndose desde el suelo como si sus patas traseras estuvieran hechas de potentes
resortes de acero, y vinieran directamente hacia arriba. Su agitada zarpa izquierda se dirigi
hacia Pepe. Se enganch en su camisa, arrancndola del brazo como si fuera papel, y las garras
ardientes se hundieron en la carne. La sangre roja brot.

65 Pepe no intent nuevamente cortar con el machete, sino que empuj, como lo hubiera
empujado con un cuchillo o una espada. El punto del machete se encontr con la garganta del
tigre, y Pepe puso toda su fuerza y peso detrs de l. La hoja explor su camino hasta convertirse
en carne viva, y el tigre qued sin aliento. La sangre burbujeaba sobre el machete.
66 Con un esfuerzo convulsivo, el tigre se alej. Pero la sangre corra de su garganta ahora y
sacudi la cabeza, luego tropez y cay. Se incorpor, mir con ojos vidriosos a Pepe y se
arrastr hacia l. Hubo un gruido estrangulado. El tigre cay al suelo. La punta de su cola se
crisp y se qued quieta.

67 Pepe mir fijamente, apenas viendo la sangre que flua de su brazo lacerado. l haba hecho
lo imposible; l haba matado a un tigre con un machete. Pepe se pas una mano por los ojos y
dio un paso tembloroso.

68 Levant su rifle y mir nuevamente hacia el cebado. No pareca haber nada malo.
Reprimiendo, Pepe agarr el rifle con el codo y agarr la empuadura del machete. Apoyando un
pie contra la cabeza del tigre, sac el machete

69 Entonces sostuvo su rifle tan cerca de la herida del machete que el hocico acarici el pelaje de
seda. l apret el gatillo. La herida se abri ms y apareci un pelaje ennegrecido por el humo.
Todos los rastros de la herida del machete fueron borrados. Pepe conoci el arrepentimiento
angustiado de un segundo, luego se arm de valor, porque as es como debe ser.

70 Todos tenan un machete. En su pueblo, el hombre que posea un rifle debe seguir siendo
supremo.

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