About 8 p.m.
On arriving at the spot where the kill was , an examination of the marks on the bullock showed that it was a panther and not a tiger that had been at work . The place was in sight of the village and on the skirt of a forest . We had a `` machan '' -LRB- platform -RRB- in a tree made , and at three o'clock in the afternoon I climbed up with my native shikari or hunter and watched and waited until dark . About 8 p.m. it was pitch dark , and the animal could be heard munching beneath . I fired at a black object twice with no result , for we still heard the beast going on with his dinner . I found later I had fired at a bush , mistaking it for a panther in the darkness . The animal was either too hungry to notice the shot , or had mistaken the sound for thunder .