376 THE LION KILLER. 



yards, and yet they must have taken a full half hour to cross 

 the intervening distance. The moon was shining bright on 

 the path, but I could only see them from time to time, as 

 they raised their heads to see if the Arab remained always in 

 the same place. They took advantage of every tuft of grass, 

 and every stone to conceal their approach, gliding rather than 

 crawling, and winding like snakes among stones or over sticks 

 without the slightest noise. 



At last the leader had come within ten paces of where I 

 was standing, and to within fifteen steps of where the Arab 

 was snoring, and his eves were fixed upon the sleeping man 

 with such a concentration of desire that I feared I had waited 

 too long, and that he would make his spring before I could 

 fire. The other lion a few steps further on, placed himself 

 abreast of his comrade, and it was not until then that I saw 

 that both of the animals were females, but of so large a size 

 that their sex was scarcely recognizable. Their stealthy 

 motions were feminine, though the texture of their skin, their 

 form, and their royal proportions had completely deceived me 

 as to their sex. How beautiful they were as they drew down 

 like pointer dogs on their prey, with every passion of their 

 souls delineated on their faces ! 



I took aim at the shoulder of the first and fired. The 

 report of the gun and the loud roar of the wounded lioness 

 brought the dreaming Arab with a bound to his feet. A 

 second ball pierced her heart and she fell dead at the very 

 feet of the frightened man, who stood rooted to the spot by 

 his terrible nightmare. 



Without losing any time, I changed guns with my spahi, 

 and looked around for the other lioness. She was on her 

 feet at a little distance off, watching with amazement the 

 scene before her. As I took aim at her shoulder, she 

 crouched down to the ground. I fired, and she rolled over, 

 badly wounded as it appeared, and sought safety in a corn- 



