ANOTHER OF THE CAT FAMILY. 269 



never failed to land his game. In an hour I saw him 

 catch fifty of different sizes, with the same instinct and 

 pleasure that a house-cat catches the gold-fish. 



Suddenly the scene changed. The avenger of the in- 

 nocents appeared in the shape of a number of crocodiles. 

 In an instant twenty open jaws rose from the surface of 

 the water and moved toward the jaguar, who retreated 

 slowly into the brake, followed by the crocodiles. Upon 

 the leader, who was a monster, the jaguar pounced, tooth 

 and nail, and tried to sink his fangs into the unyielding 

 armor of his hide, while the crocodile wound his snake- 

 like body around the foe, and strained every muscle to 

 strangle him. Never did I see a finer wrestling bout ; 

 and the jaguar was getting the best of it, when the croco- 

 dile's friends came to the rescue, like dogs upon a quarry. 

 Soon a dozen lay dead, all killed in the same w^ay, — their 

 throats cut clear across with a jagged tear, through which 

 the blood poured and their breath escaped in uneven gasps 

 like puff's from a bellows. The jaguar limped, and could 

 hardly stand ; for the terrible amphibians had crushed his 

 haunches, breaking the' bones and dislocating the joints. 

 He killed now simply for the pleasure of killing. The 

 sight and smell of j^lood intoxicated him, and when the 

 few remaining crocodiles, wounded and terror-struck, un- 

 dertook to escape into the stream again, he assumed the 

 offensive and barred their retreat. With a few blows 

 from his claws he added them to the slain, and remained 

 victor on the field of battle. But his triumph w\as short. 



