48 THE LION KILLER. 



comes the sound of a gun, and a ball ricochets from tree to 

 tree, with a whistling noise, and he furiously rushes from his 

 room to met the invaders. 



He hears the cries and menaces of the Arabs, and stops in 

 his course, trembling with wrath and impatience. The 

 gleaming eye, the dilated nostril, and swelling limbs, all 

 mark the warrior's joy in the coming battle. He remembers 

 having heard these same cries and assaults once before, and 

 how he recklessly rushed out to met the foe, to be received 

 with a tempest of balls, the marks of which still remain on 

 his body, and the past experience gives him prudence. So 

 the voices call, and the guns sound in vain ; he controls his 

 ardor, and bides the proper moment for making the charge. 

 With a restless step, he roves around his domain, now 

 walking fast, with uplifted head and a long step, now pausing 

 to listen to the gathering storm around him ; and then he 

 rears himself on his hind feet, and with his fore paws tears the 

 bark from some tree, in long strips, as though it was a 

 living foe. 



So passes the time beneath the greenwood ; while, on the 

 open plain, the baffled hunters hold council how to bring the 

 foe to terms, and whether to advance or retreat. 



It is seldom that a party of this kind disbands without 

 attempting the assault, if it is only for the purpose of quiet- 

 ing the ridicule of the women at the camp, or of saving the 

 honor of the tribe, by bringing home one or more dead or 

 wounded, in proof of their daring. 



In these kind of conclaves, the old men are always the 

 most prudent, while the young are reckless and ardent. 



