PUMAS AND JAGUABS 97 



head and stretched itself out, and Belt made ready to 

 receive its spring, but the jaguar altered its rnind at the 

 last, and bounded off into the forest. It was much the 

 best thing for everybody ; but Belt never ceased being 

 sorry that he had not fired, although, if he had, he would 

 most likely never have come home to tell the tale. 



In this part of the world, too, jaguars have a peculiar 

 way of killing their prey, which certainly spares the 

 victim any pangs of terror. A jaguar will sit quietly on a 

 tree till a herd of wild pigs come by, and then, choosing 

 out a nice fat one, drops straight on its back as it passes 

 underneath, dislocates its neck with a jerk of its paw, 

 and is up the tree again before the rest of the herd know 

 what has happened. When they have disappeared, 

 leaving their dead comrade behind them, the jaguar 

 jumps down and eats him for dinner. 



