A PANTHER IN A CAVE. 331 



very glad when my old friend returned and made a 

 good fire. 



As soon as we were well Avarmed, we made torches, 

 and entered the cave as cautiously as possible, each 

 with a burning torch in his left hand, and a rifle 

 in the right. I went first, but the cave was soon 

 roomy enough to admit of our walking upright beside 

 each other. Some distance in, it took a turn to the 

 left, and about two hundred paces in advance we saw 

 the fiery eyeballs of the beast, who kept shutting them 

 from time to time. Conwell, taking my torch, stepped 

 behind me, while I took aim and fired. We heard a 

 noise after the shot, but could not make out the result ; 

 I reloaded as fast as possible, while Conwell went in 

 advance, but we could see nothing more of the animal's 

 eyes. We went on with cocked rifles on our left arm. 

 Moving silently and cautiously forward, we suddenly 

 discovered the panther in a little hollow close to our 

 feet, a beautiful but alarming sight, his ears laid back, 

 his teeth gnashing in wild rage, and his glowing eyes 

 so wide open, that they seemed half out of their 

 sockets. Inspired by one impulse, we both fired so 

 exactly together, that neither knew that the other had 

 done so. Our enemy was hit, but whether mortally, 

 or not was more than we could tell. Dropping our 

 rifles like lightning, we drew our knives ; a sore need 

 we had of them, for before the sound of the rifles 

 expired, we felt the weight of the panther upon us. 

 I drove my knife into him, and sprang back; our 

 torches were extinguished; it all passed so quickly, 

 that I did not recover full possession of my senses, 

 till I stood beside my old friend in the fresh air at 



