ath, which had nothing of the wild beast in
it, swathing my head and face in a genial atmosphere. A full conviction
that her intention toward me was good, gained possession of me. I
turned like a sleepy boy, threw my arm over her, and sank into profound
unconsciousness.

When I began to come to myself, I fancied I lay warm and soft in my own
bed. "Is it possible I am at home?" I thought. The well-known scents of
the garden seemed to come crowding in. I rubbed my eyes, and looked out:
I lay on a bare stone, in the heart of a hateful city!

I sprang from the bench. Had I indeed had a leopardess for my bedfellow,
or had I but dreamed it? She had but just left me, for the warmth of her
body was with me yet!

I left the recess with a new hope, as strong as it was shapeless. One
thing only was clear to me: I must find the princess! Surely I had some
power with her, if not over her! Had I not saved her life, and had she
not prolonged it at the expense of my vitality? The reflection gave me
courage to encounter her, be she what she might.

CHAPTER XXV. THE PRINCESS

Making a circuit of the castle, I came again to the open gates, crossed
the ravine-like moat, and found myself in a paved court, planted at
regular intervals with towering trees like poplars. In the centre was
one taller than the rest, whose branches, near the top, spread a little
and gave it some resemblance to a palm. Between their great stems I
got glimpses of the palace, which was of a style strange to me, but
suggested Indian origin. It was long and low, with lofty towers at the
corners, and one huge dome in the middle, rising from the roof to half
the height of the towers. The main entrance was in the centre of the
front--a low arch that seemed half an ellipse. No one was visible, the
doors stood wide open, and I went unchallenged into a large hall, in
the form of a longish ellipse. Toward one side stood a cage, in which
couched, its head on its paws, a huge leopardess, chained by a steel
collar, with its mouth muzzled and its paws muffled. It was white
with dark oval spots, and lay staring out of wide-open eyes, with
canoe-shaped pupils, and great green irids. It appeared to watch me, but
not an eyeball, not a foot, not a whisker moved, and its tail stretched
out behind it rigid as an iron bar. I could not tell whether it was a
live thing or not.

From this vestibule two low passages led; I took one of them, and
found it branch into many, all nar