56 THE LION KILLER. 



selves by village, by tent, and by family ; so that if there are 

 thirty hunters present, one troop would number twenty, and 

 the other but ten ; yet these ten, in spite of their nume- 

 rical, and sometimes personal, inferiority, will, nevertheless, 

 be more effective than the other twenty ; because, they are 

 all brothers, or fathers and children, or at most, near relatives, 

 who can safely rely on each other in moments of danger. 

 The two parties once formed, retire to the forks of the trail 

 they left, and each follows a different track, agreeing to come 

 together at the first cry or sound of a gun. 



After having gone a little way, stopping ever and anon, to 

 catch the meaning of different signs or sounds ; the party 

 taking the right hand path meets with a tree all furrowed 

 with the claws of the lion. Every one stops to examine it, 

 and to give his opinion ; or, it may be, to let the left hand party 

 have time to attack, if they meet with their prey, or to return 

 if they have run out their path. But the others are follow- 

 ing their trail without any difficulty or hesitation ; for at their 

 head marches the famous Abdallah, the giant of the chase ; 

 who, when a man is overthrown by a lion, is always by to 

 rescue or revenge ; who, when there is a flight or a panic 

 remains ever at his post ; who has been seen, after having 

 discharged all his weapons, and broken his yatagan in the 

 head of a wounded lion, that was crushing one of his rela- 

 tives, to throw himself on the beast, and grasping him in his 

 powerful t arms, attack him with his teeth, and let himself be 

 torn and wounded, still holding his own, until a ball has 

 entered the temple of the lion, passing between him and the 

 body of his friend. 



