OEDEE OP CAENIVOEA. 371 



I took my stand. The Arabs drove in the stake on the higher 

 ground, about twenty feet from me, and there tied the Goat, then, 

 wishing me good luck, ran off with all haste, not desiring to 

 become intimate with the dangerous animal they believed in the 

 vicinity. 



" I had seated myself in the thicket, and had not drawn my 

 hunting-knife from its sheath to lay it on the ground so as to 

 have it handy, for a few minutes had scarcely elapsed, when 

 separating the slender twigs which might impede its movements, 

 quicker than lightning the marauder fell upon the bait. I held 

 my breath, and hesitated firing, hoping the moon would afford 

 me a gleam of light ; a delaj^ of some seconds thus ensued, for 

 its rays only occasionally showed through the dark flitting 

 clouds. 



" But what was my astonishment to see the Panther passing 

 by me, carrying oiF the Goat with the ease of a Cat bearing oS 

 a Mouse. It was about ten feet from me, and moving directly 

 across ; I could neither distinguish head or tail, only a black 

 indistinct mass. . . . The remembrance of my thirty-four un- 

 successful nights flashed across my mind ; impatience carried me 

 completely away, and, forgetting all prudent resolutions, I pulled 

 the trigger. 



"My gun, a twelve bore, was loaded with 110 grains of powder 

 and twentj^-four slugs. The object of my aim fell, uttering 

 guttural roars, at the same time dropping the Goat. I had broken 

 the Panther's two fore paws ; yet it had not seen from whence 

 the shot came, and might have thought that the Goat had ex- 

 ploded in his jaws. 



" The slightest movement on my part would be certain to attract 

 attention ; common sense demanded that the most complete im- 

 mobility should be observed ; but fearing a surprise, I determined 

 to stand up in my hiding-place to see over it, and be the better 

 prepared for results. In rising a branch caught the hood of ray 

 cloak and threw it down on my shoulder. This was another of 

 the providential chances to which I owe my life. 



" The wily brute, now alarmed, did not utter a cry or a sound, 

 but fixed its attention on the thicket and listened. A few 

 moments passed, and I, hearing and seeing nothing, thought the 



foe dead. 



B B 2 



