Tembu and his father Baldeo are the main characters in the story. Baldeo is a signal man in the small railway station in the jungle. Their house is in the village. But  Tembu and Baldeo live in a hut inside the jungle. 


Baldeo has heard about a man-eater tiger that visits the place. However, he is brave because he has an axe with him. The axe was gifted to him by his father.

One day, the train is late. Baldeo sits and sleeps for a while. He wakes up hearing some noise. He understands that the tiger has reached. He feels sure that running is useless. He fights with the tiger and is eventually killed. Then comes the train. The tiger is trapped before the train. The tiger is not able to move anymore be cause its leg is severely wounded. Tembu comes and realizes that his father is dead. He guards his father's dead body the whole night.

The engine driver stops the train next station and finds out the half portion of a tiger in front of the train. People gather to see it
For two whole days Tembu, his mother are sad. The next day Tembu does the job of signalling, because all the responsibility has now fell on Tembu. Tembu waits for the train. He is fearless, because his father has killed the tiger. Moreover, now he has his father's axe with him.