er,
caught the stock in its teeth, and tore at the gun with its terrible
claws, there seemed small chance of Raoul being able to repeat the blow.

Happily this was not necessary on his part, for Madame, who had been
perfectly composed throughout, having picked up a stout stick, came to
his assistance, and, with a clever blow delivered just behind the
puma's ear, put an end to its existence.

"Bravo, Aunt Constance!" cried Raoul delightedly. "You've done for
him, and just in time, too! He was pulling the gun out of my hands."

There was the light of triumph in Madame la Tour's fine eyes as she
turned the dead thing over with her stick.

"He meant us mischief, Raoul," she said, "and he has paid dearly for
it. If he had left us alone he would not be lying there now. Let us
kneel down and thank God for our deliverance."

And so they knelt together, while Madame, in a few fervent sentences,
expressed their gratitude to Providence for having thus protected them
from injury.

As they hastened homeward, Madame said in a low tone, as if talking to
herself rather than to Raoul:

"This is a wild, dangerous country, and I grow very weary of it. I
pray that I may be spared to get back to France some day."

Raoul heard these words with some surprise. His aunt always seemed so
busy and content in the doing of her duty, that he did not suppose she
was not as happy as he was himself, but his quick sympathy inspired him
to ask:

"Shall we be going back to France some day, Aunt Constance?"

"Only God knows that, my dear," was the reply. "I'm sure I cannot
tell. We are in the hands of Providence, and whatever comes to pass
will be the best."

Raoul said no more at the time, but thenceforward his admiration for
his aunt was deepened by the knowledge that she would really prefer
being across the ocean, although she always seemed so serene and
satisfied with her lot in Acadia.

Monsieur La Tour was much interested in the account of the encounter
with the catamount.

"You deserve credit, both of you," he said warmly. "As for you, my
dear wife," he added, with an unusually loving look, "there seems to be
no limit to your talents. You can preach, teach, hunt, fish, and look
after the affairs of your own household better than any woman I ever
knew. How fortunate I was to get such a wife! Eh, Raoul?"

Madame's noble countenance was flooded with colour by her husband's
frank praise, which made her heart sing for joy, a