The Leopard and Panther 155 



intervals the tinkle of a cow-bell sounded faintly in the dis- 

 tance. I tossed restlessly, thinking of various things, till 

 I must have sunk into an uneasy, fitful sleep. I know not 

 how long I had been dozing, when of a sudden I felt my- 

 self wide awake, but with my eyes yet tightly closed. 



" I was conscious of some terrible, unknown, impending 

 danger. I had experienced the same thing before when 

 waking from a nightmare, but I knew that the peril was 

 now real. I felt a sinking horror, a terrible and nameless 

 dread, and for the life of me I could not move hand or foot. 

 I was lying on my side and could hear distinctly the 

 thumpings of my own heart. A cold sweat broke out 

 behind my ears, and over my neck and chest. I could 

 analyze every feeling, and knew there was some Presence 

 in the tent, and that I was in instant and imminent danger. 

 Suddenly in the distance a pariah dog gave a prolonged 

 melancholy howl. As if this had broken the spell that 

 bound me, I opened my eyes, and within ten inches of my 

 face there stood a handsome leopardess gazing steadily at 

 me. Our eyes met, and how long we confronted each 

 other I know not. It must have been for some moments. 

 Her eyes contracted and expanded, the pupils elongated, and 

 then opened out into a lustrous globe. I could see the 

 lithe tail oscillating at its extreme tip with a gentle waving 

 motion, like that of a cat when hunting birds in a garden. 



"Just then there was a movement among the horses. 

 The leopard slowly turned her head, and I grasped the 

 revolver that lay under my pillow. The beautiful spotted 

 monster turned her head for an instant, showed her teeth, 

 and then with one bound went through the open side of the 



