XXI The Leopard that Needed a Dentist
The excellent American dentist at Madras had me “at discretion” in 1908; and as he worked he began talking, in the kindly way some dentists have, about things in general, and in particular, when encouraged and led to that topic, he spoke about the science of his useful art.
“What spoils the teeth is want of use,” said he. “Look at cats! What fine teeth tigers have!”
“When they are young,” said I, “are you aware that tigers and leopards often die prematurely of starvation, because their teeth fail them? There is no kind of living creature that needs more than they do the services of a really competent dentist. See!”
He looked over his shoulder with a start, as if half expecting to see some strange customer; but it was only a common messenger....
Resuming his work, he began recalling all he had heard from various patients about cats’ teeth; and suddenly ejaculated, “You’re right, you’re right! I had forgotten what a man told me he saw in the Nilgiris. From a distance, but close enough to see well, he saw a big leopard seize his dog as it played on the road. The dog got loose, in a surprising way. The leopard caught and mouthed him again, and then again; and finally let him go and disappeared as men approached. Three times that dog had been seen in its mouth, and yet there was not a scratch on the body of the dog. The leopard could not have had a tooth in its head.”