The Puma 283 



on occasions when the amenities of social intercourse were 

 in order, he was peaceable enough ; not affable by any means, 

 for he never noticed the attendants or appeared to be con- 

 scious of their presence. Smoking afforded this observant 

 creature much satisfaction. Smoke itself, if puffed in his 

 face, displeased him, but the preliminaries, striking a match, 

 and the wreaths that floated away and vanished, all this he 

 liked and pondered upon, as he did on certain pictures 

 hung around, and everything that for reasons which can 

 only be guessed at, excited wonder. Professor Prantl lays 

 down the law that a beast cannot think logically ; neverthe- 

 less, and apart from other facts which refute that decision, 

 it was perfectly plain that Gato solved some problems im- 

 plying this power. After a course of observations and 

 experiments, it was discovered by him that shadows were 

 not alive because they moved, and then these ceased 

 to be pursued. Much study was requisite to arrive at a 

 conclusion that the sunbeams reflected from a mirror were 

 of the same inanimate nature. This was settled to his 

 satisfaction only after great research. The creature saw 

 this thing done time and again before convincing himself of 

 the resemblance between those luminous shadows and the 

 dark spectra which had formerly deceived him. 



Gato grew graver with age, and abandoned many amuse- 

 ments in which he had at one time taken delight. It 

 seemed to his guardian that there was a steady develop- 

 ment of his intellect, which showed itself in everything he 

 did. It would be too much to say that he was capable of 

 thinking about his own thoughts, but who shall decide 

 that he was not ? With consciousness, memory, and a 



