Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1882-07-01

VIZ shAihAlo VI bht tSsSt ., anu l'4tESSiai-
that they might come 10 drink from the
spring, wnich lost itself in the sands sur.
rounding the base of the rock, he resolved
TO secure himself from their visits by put
| ting barrier at the door of his hermitage.
In spite OF his zeal, in spite OF the strength
which the fear OF being devoured during ms
sleep gave him, 1t was impossible to new the
palm tree in pieces during the day but
he succeeded in telling it. When, toward
evening, this king OF the desert came down,
the sound Of his fall resounded afar-!t
was like cry uttered by solitude; the
soldier shuddered as if he had heard a
voice predicting for him misfortune. Bat,
like an heir who mourns briefly over the
death Of relative, he stripped this beau
tiful tree of the long, broad green leaves,
which are its poetic ornament, and made
use OF them to repair the mat on which ne
was going to sleep for the night. Wesried
out by heat and toll, he slumbered under
meath the red wainscotirgs Of his damp
grotto. In the middle OF the night his
sleep was disturbed by an extraordinary
noise.
He raised himself. and in the profound
silence which reigned he recognized the al
| ternate accents OF q respiration whose
savage energy could not belong to any
human creature.
A deep fear, augmented by obscurity, by
silence, and by the rancies that attended
his sudden waking, froze his heart. He
hardly felt the dreadful creeping on the
skin of his head, when tby dint of dilating
his pupils he saw in the shadow two pale,
yellow lights.
At first, he attributed these beams to
some reflection of his own eyebals, but
soon the brightness of the night aiding him
to distinguish objects in the grotto, he per.
eeived an enormous animal crouched few
steps distant. Was it lion, tiger, or a
crocodile? He had not sufficient knowl-
edge to say in what species his enemy
would be clsssed, and his fright was the
| greater, as his ignorance led him TO suppose
all kinds of misfortuneS possible. He en-
dured the cruel punishment OF listening Of
detecting the caprices of respiration with
out losing a sound, and without daring to
make the least movement
| An odOr as powerful as that exhaled by
foxes, but more heavy, more penetrating,
so to speak, filed the grotto, and when he
| had scented it with his nostrils, his terror
was at its height, for he could no longer
| doubt the existence of the terrible CON-
panion, whose royal cave served him for a
| bivouac. Soon the beams of the moon
! which sank toward the horizon lighted the
den and made resplendent the spotted skin
of panther. This Egyptian lion slept
rolled up like great dog who possesses IN
peace a comfortable niche at the door of
some dwelling. He had his face turned
toward the Frenchman /; his eyes, open for
a moment, were again closed.
a thousand confused ideas passed
through the soul of the panthers prisoner :
at first he thought of shooting him with his
gun, but he perceived that there was not
sufficient space between them to allow him
to adjust his piece /; the shot would go be-
yond the animal. And If he should wake
This doubt rendered the soldier immov-
able. Listening to his own heart beats in
the midst of silence, he cursed the strong
pulsations produced by the atiiueGce OF his
blood, fearing that their very throbs might
trouble the sleep which allowed him to
seek some salutary expedient of safety. He
put his hand twice on his scimiter, with
the design of cutting off his enemy's head,
but the difficulty of piercing close and
hard skin obliged him to renounce his bold
project Ii he failed it would be certain
death, He preferred the chances OF a com
bat, and resolved to wait for the day, and
day was not long in coming. he was now
able to examine the panther. The creatures
muzzle was stained with blood.
" He has eaten, said the soldier. He
did not ask himself whether the feast had
been composed of human flesh, and if it
had, whether the panther would be hungry
on waxing 1t was female. The hair of
the abdomen and thighs cleaned white.
Several small spots like velvet formed
pretty bracelets round the paws. The
muscular tail was also white, but it ended
in black rings. The coat above, yellow as
unwrought gold, but sleek and soft, was
marked with those characteristic spots,
shaded in the roll form, which serve to
distinguish the panther from the other
species of 20 felis." This tranquil and
formidable hostess snored in a pose as
graceful as that of a cat couched on the
cushion OF an ottoman. Her bloody paws,
nervous and well armed, lay in front OF
her head, which reposed on them, and
from which started those tine, straight
whiskers that resemble silver threads. If
she had been in a cage, the Provencal
would have admired the grace of this ami
NAL and the vigorous contrasts of living
colors which gave an imperial luster to her
simare, but at this moment his sight was
troubled at the sinister aspect. Toe pres.
ence of the panther, even asleep, had on
him the same effect that the magnetic
eyes of the serpent are said to produce on
| the nightingale. For moment his cour-
age died before this danger, although he
would doubtless have been exalted at the
mouth of the cannon when discharging
/ - - Ill Nax,orkha1aes
/ cheered his soul and checked in its source
| the cold sweat that ran down his face.
| Acting like men who, pushed to extremity
by misfortune, defy DEATH and offer them.
| selves &c. its blows, he saw without realiz.
ing it) in this adventure a tragedy, and
resolved to play his part in 1t with honor,
even to the last scene.
Day before Yesterday" he said, "the
Arabs might have killed me" Consider
ing himself dead, he waited bravely and
with restless curiosity, the waking of his
enemy. When the sun appeared the
panther suddenly opened her eyes, then she
stretched her paws violently, as if to relax
them and dissipate the cramps. Finally
she yawned showing formidable supply
of teeth and her furrowed tongue, as hard
as CRATER.
"She is like little coquette, T" exclaimed
the Frenchman, as he saw her roll and
make the softest, prestiest movements.
she Tapped the blood which stained her
paws and muzzle, and scratched her head
in repeated gestures, full of grace.
Excellent She ia putting little
touch to her toilet" sad the soldier to
himself, for he regained his gayety with
returning courage. "We will wish her
good morning." And he seized the small,
short poniard that he had taken from the
Maugrabins. At this moment the panther
turned her head toward the Frenchman
and regarded him fxedly, without advanc-
ing The rigidity of her metallic eyes and
their insupportable brilliancy made him
shIver, especially when she marched to,
ward him. But he looked at her caress-
ingly, and, peering at her as if to magnet.
izs her, he allowed her to approach him
then, by gentle, afRectionate movement,
he passed his hand over the whole body