54 THE TIGEE. 



as easily as a fox would have thrown a fowl, bounded 

 off towards the forest. All the guns were at once 

 directed towards her, but no hunter dared to fire, in 

 the fear of hitting their unfortunate companion. 



They were soon out of sight, but they could follow 

 by the trace of blood shed by the victim. Soon these 

 traces became more and more indistinct, and, arrived 

 in the heart of the forest, not knowing on which side 

 to direct their steps, the hunters, in despair, were 

 about to give up the pursuit, when at the very moment 

 they least expected it, they perceived the tigress and 

 her prey, both extended in the high grass. The beast 

 was dead. The man, with his eyes wide open, was 

 still conscious, but his thigh remained in the jaws 

 of the tigress, and he was too feeble to reply to the 

 questions of his friends. It was necessary, in order 

 to release him from his terrible position, to cut off the 

 head of the animal, and to disjoint her jaws. 



Fortunately, a surgeon was present, and the best care 

 was given to the wounded, and he was conveyed to the 

 nearest dwelling from the theatre of this frightful scene. 



When he had sufficiently regained his strength, 

 he related his adventure thus : Stunned by his 

 fall, weakened by loss of blood and by pain, he had 

 fainted a few seconds after the tigress seized him. 

 When he regained consciousness he found himself on 

 the back of the animal, which was trotting at a rapid 



