A TALE OF AN INTERVIEWER.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LI, Issue 178, 18 July 1908, Page 3

A TALE OF AN INTERVIEWER.

By John Foster Fraser. During my bicycle ride round the world 1 arrived at Sew York, and an interviewer called upon me in search of •• copy " about my adventures. 1 may say Unit I am quite hopeless in regard to adventure yarns, for 1 have never had any adventures, or, at all events, not what travellers would regard as such. Moreover, 1 was feeling pretty tired, sol told the interviewer 1 was sorry, but 1 really had nothing to relate, " 6ii. 1 guess '\vc can fix that all right,' said he. "Xow, you came across India, didn't you?" .i„:> " Yes'/' 1 admitted. " Waal, now, (Udn't you have any exciting times there?'" " No,"' 1 said, rather untruthfully, for at Calcutta I had been ill ail earthquake. Hut, as I say, J was tired, and in no mood to talk. Besides, lots of people have heen in earthquakes. " Hut, say," continued my persecutor, -didn't you meet any tigers?" "No,'' I answered, this time truthfully. I ■• I never saw a tiger the whole time 1 -was there."

'• Waal, now, that's strange. How do J yon account for it?" I "Oh, 1 don't know," 1 said, hastily; " probably because we always travelled by night," as, of course, we did, to avoid the hunt of the day. Thereupon, to my surprise and relief, the interviewer shut up his notebook J with a snap, said "Thank you vurry much." and departed. Next morning his paper came out with two columns of wholly apocryphal details of mv career. I had expected that, and, therefore, was not surprised; but whai took mv fancy, in fact what "just tickled me to death," as Americans say, was the top headline—there were about a dozen of thi'in in all—which ran as follows, in' letters about three inches high: " How the Wily Britisher Dodged the Bengal Tiger!"