ORDER OF CARNIVORA. 
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 delay 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 off the Goat with the ease of a Cat bearing off 
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 twenty-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 my 
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 
