390 THE LION KILLER. 



a menacing manner. I saw the game was becoming serious, 

 and made ready to fire. 



Taking advantage of an instant when he turned his side to 

 me as he was promenading to and fro, I drove a ball through 

 his shoulder, and while he was writhing under the sudden 

 shock, I sent another through his side directly behind his 

 shoulder, and with a roar and a crash, the lion pierced 

 through and through by the two balls, rolled like an avalanche 

 down into the ravine. 



As I was reloading my rifle, the Arabs rushed up, and I 

 pointed out to them the place where the animal had stood 

 when I fired. On looking down the declivity, we saw where 

 the bank was stained by blood, and furrowed by the claws of 

 the beast, as he had attempted to regain the plateau. Con- 

 vinced that he was dead, the Arabs started off for the neigh- 

 boring heights, to call their friends to carry off the body, while 

 T descended to the dry bed of the torrent below, and followed 

 the bloody marks along the bottom, until they disappeared in 

 a thicket, so close that I could not see under it. In order to 

 know if the animal was there, I threw a stone in the bushes, 

 and was answered by a hollow growl, half plaintive, half 

 menacing, that came from a spot twenty paces in advance, and 

 gave a stern warning of murder in its tones. 



This sound chilled my heart, and recalled to me the voice 

 of the lion of Mejez-Amar, that six years before had mangled 

 Rostain and two Arabs under my very eyes. 



I bent down on my knees and tried to peer under the bushes, 

 but could see no further than the first branches, still dripping 

 with the blood of the lion as he passed. After having broken 

 a twig to mark the place where the trail had entered, I was 

 going to leave, when my spahi came up with two of my hunts- 

 men and four armed Arabs, all of them eager for a pursuit. 

 I tried every inducement to prevent them from entering into 

 the jungle, where they wanted to hunt for the body of the 



