PERILOUS ESCAPE. 129 



hit I could not exactly tell, as he made for 

 the underwood close at hand. As the beast 

 had taken the direction of the river I got 

 alarmed about the children, and hesitated 

 whether to ride to the hut for the man's dogs 

 or back to the river, in case the wounded 

 beast had taken his way towards the children ; 

 but, deciding on the last, went as fast as I 

 could to the river, and pulling the two children 

 on to the saddle, took them to the hut, where 

 the Indian had already arrived, alarmed by 

 the report of the rifle. The children were 

 gladly received, and the father, with his 

 dogs, was on the trail in a few minutes; the 

 dogs acknowledged the scent directly ; but 

 no long pursuit was required, as the big brute 

 lay dead about a hundred yards inside the 

 covert. He was shot in the best spot, that 

 is to say in the neck, a few inches below the 

 head. The children must have had a narrow 

 escape, for whether the puma was on the 

 branch when they passed or not it is im- 

 possible to say, but he would have been 

 pretty sure to be there on their return. He 

 was a filthy, aged brute, with teeth as 

 rounded and blunted as a finger; he was 

 scabby and mangy all over, but of a large 

 size ; I was, however, surprised to see his 



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