the cheetah was very much alive and belonged to one of Roye's more exotic chelsea clients. it was the habit of the client and his cheetah to travel around London in a convoy of two taxis. miss kumari, recently crowned miss india 1938, was selected as a suitable companion for the cheetah in the Roye shoot. the animal took to miss kumari and she lived to discharge her regal dutiesābut after a while it became restive and focused its attention on its chief tormentor Roye, who was forced to hold it at bay with a camera tripod in the manner of a circus tamer.