28 WOLF'S WILD ANIMALS. 



enemy's foot. But there is nothing that they can hear or scent, and unconscious 



of their great peril, they pass ■ beneath the Hmb. Only an instant is needed to 



gather himself together, and with all his natural fierceness increased many fold by 



long continued fasting, the panther descends upon the broad back of its victim. 



Paralysed for an instant by the suddenness of the shock, the poor deer staggers 



beneath the weight of the terrible beast; then fear and the consciousness of 



imminent danger give it renewed strength, and it bounds through the forest 



in the wake of its terrified companions, with the cruel rider tearing its tender 



flesh with both claws and fangs. The deep growls of the panther, accompanied by 



the bleating of the wounded deer, arouse the other creatures of the woods, which 



hurry away from the scene ; all save the great horned owls, which disturbed from 



their day-slumbers in the hollow of some ancient tree, follow the flying animal in 



hopes of a share in any approaching feast. Soon failing strength warns the deer 



that it must speedily free itself from its dangerous companion, or else it will be 



obliged to succumb ; and as it passes the massive trunks of the trees standing 



along, its course, it brushes against them, vainly endeavouring to sweep the panther 



off. When all hope appears over, it suddenly sees before it, lying across and 



but a few feet above the path, the fallen trunk of a dead tree. Speeding towards 



it, the doe crouches until its back is just on a level with the tree's lower side, 



and then with a mighty rush brings the panther forcibly against the trunk, and 



the beast, obliged to loose his hold, is swept off, while the deer, rejoicing in its 



freedom, disappears in the thick woods. The panther growls over the loss of his 



prey, and lashing his sides with angry jerks of his long tail, moves slowly away 



into the dense bushes. 



