398 THE LION KILLER. 



the other, while countless thoughts all the while winged 

 through my brain. 



As soon as I could see anything under the cloud of smoke 

 that hung in the still air, I knew that the lioness was no lon- 

 ger in sight, and I heard her growling and thrashing the 

 branches in the same place where she stood, and was satisfied 

 that she was badly hurt. 



Not fancying, to make a nearer investigation at such an 

 hour, I called to my men, and we returned to the douar, to 

 renew the search when the light of day should put us on a 

 more even footing. 



Great was the joy of the inhabitants of the douar when they 

 heard- of our success. The same lugubrious party that had 

 serenaded me on the yester-eve, now surrounded me with 

 dances and homages, calling upon the moon and the fair 

 stars of Heaven to shine upon me, springs to burst forth on 

 my path, and shady trees to grow over me when I laid down 

 to sleep. They all prayed permission to go up to the moun- 

 tain with us the next day, to see the lioness before being skin- 

 ned, and to choose the best pieces of flesh. 



The next morning, before sunrise, I started for the scene of 

 the evening's adventures, followed by every soul in the douar. 

 After reaching the place where the lioness had fallen, I 

 ordered the rest of the party to wait, and I followed the trail, 

 attended by my spahi. 



At the place where I had taken my shot on the previous 

 evening, I found a pool of gore, and the regular line of blood 

 then turned down the hill, spotting the grass in clots and 

 marking the bushes on either side where the animal had 

 pushed through. It was soon apparent that the lioness had 

 frequently fallen in her flight, and every time she had struck 

 the ground, a deep furrow showed that her shoulder was 

 broken, and a portion of the bone protruding. From this, I 

 saw that she must have been standing obliquely to me, and 



