TWO DIANAS IN ALASKA 265 



veniently adjacent and brought it down with a Swing- 

 ing smash on to the shoulders of our enemy. The 

 blow was at such close quarters Cecily almost fell with 

 the impact, but the cat, fortunately, let go suddenly, 

 turned a half somersault, and to my immense sur- 

 prise dropped dead in its tracks. We afterwards 

 found that Cecily's bullet had penetrated farther than 

 we had at first thought. I carried the remains to- 

 camp. It was such a beautifully marked beast, with 

 enormous length of whisker, and thick, glossy coat. 



Cleaning the wound on Cecily's leg I found that 

 the incisor teeth had made considerable havoc, so I 

 iodoformed and bandaged. 



When Ralph returned to camp with a wonderful 

 story of a moose that was missed, he was terribly 

 upset over the lynx episode. If Cecily had been 

 gnawed by a tiger he could not have fussed more. 

 All his regret was that he had not been with us. In 

 that case the accident could never have happened. 

 Isn't it odd, the way in which men consider them- 

 selves such lighthouses and pillars of strength ? 



" And how could you have prevented the lyrrr 

 biting me, I should like to know?" said Cecily, con- 

 cluding that her reputation as a capable huntress was 

 seriously impugned. " Besides, I suppose I can be 

 bitten if I like." 



For three days we feared blood-poisoning, arid 

 things looked quite nasty, but matters took a turn for 

 the better, and bar a few days of absolute lameness, 

 Cecily got off all right. She and Ralph pottered 

 about the camp, collecting birds and a musk rat or 



