230 THE LION KILLER. 



and the park, lately so crowded with animals, completely 

 deserted. 



I understood less and less every moment, what was the 

 meaning of all this, when an old woman that belonged to 

 the family of Bou-Aziz came to relieve me of my embarrass- 

 ment, saying, while she tore out her grey hairs, " It is the 

 lion, see how he treats us, the Jew, the pagan, the cousin of 

 the devil !" ' 



I now comprehended the meaning of it all, except the men 

 running about hither and thither with their arms. The old 

 woman explained that a part of the cattle had taken refuge 

 in the tents, and a part had broken a hole in the hedge and 

 escaped, and the men were now endeavoring to drive them 

 back. 



At this moment I saw Bou-Aziz pushing before him seve- 

 ral head of horned cattle, and in a little while the park was 

 as full as before, with the exception of the black bull that 

 was missing, and that had, without doubt, served as a break- 

 fast for the lion. I say, breakfast, for hardly had order been 

 re-established before the tents began to redden with the 

 early light. 



Bou-Aziz, whom I reproached for not having warned me 

 that the lion was coming, declared that it was a most dan- 

 gerous thing to attack him in the neighborhood of the douar, 

 and to prove the correctness of his assertion, he related to. me 

 the following occurrence that had happened the previous 

 year. 



" A lion known throughout all the country by the name of 



