266 THE ADVENTURES OF 



not a water-dog ; always reload your gun whether the enemy be 

 dead or not before you trust yourself within its reach." 



Gringalet ventured to bark round the beast, and I kept in 

 readiness to shoot, whilst my companions cautiously advanced. 

 The cougar had been struck in the forehead, and no longer 

 breathed. It was about three feet in length, and its hair, which 

 was slightly waved on some parts of its body, showed it was a 

 young one. The Indian raised the animal's enormous head. 



"Come," he said, "you deserve to die like a warrior. You 

 are the first of your race which ever ventured so close to my gun. 

 Was it Chanito you wanted to devour % " 



" I think it much more probable that it wanted Gringalet ; 

 what a pity it is that we can't tame tjiese beautiful cats ! " 



" Cats ! " repeated Lucien. 



" Yes, to be sure; the great African lion itself is nothing but 

 the largest and strongest of all the cat tribe. Didn't you know 

 thatr' 



"I thought the lion was a beast by itself; but, at all events, 

 it is the king of mammals 1 " 



" It is rightly thought to be the strongest of all the carnivora : 

 its head, which it carries upright, and its beautiful mane, give it 

 a majestic appearance. With regard to its reputation for gene- 

 rosity, I scarcely know what it is founded on ; I fancy that the 

 famous lion of Androcles had just enjoyed a plentiful meal when 

 he spared the life of his benefactor.'' 



It was no use to think of skinning our victim, for the flies 

 were already swarming on the dead body, although it was still 

 warm. L'Encuerado wished to attribute to Lucien the honour 

 of killing the puma ; but the boy, although he had always longed 

 to achieve such a feat, said at once that he had missed his aim. 



I stopped in front of a tree (hymencea), belonging to the legu- 

 minous family; the pods of which contain a sweet pulp, and 

 from its trunk oozes out a resin, which is much sought after by 

 the Indians, who use it as a cure for stomach-ache. A little 

 farther on, a mango tree tempted I'Encuerado, who, like all his 

 countrymen, was fond of its fruit. I disliked the nauseous 

 smell and taste of them, which reminds me of turpentine, 



