lear a passage. In less than an hour we had
crossed five or six glades. Suddenly I noticed that Gringalet had
disappeared. I called him, and a distant barking answered me.

"Can he have met with a stream?" said Sumichrast.

I advanced in the direction in which I had heard the voice of our
four-footed companion, and suddenly came upon him baying furiously at a
young cougar, which Sumichrast ran towards, but the animal fled into the
wood.

"Where did you turn out this fellow, Gringalet?" asked l'Encuerado,
quite seriously. "Don't trust too much to his friendship, for it might
be the worse for you; lions seldom fondle any thing without hurting it."

"Was it a lion?" asked Lucien.

"Yes," I answered; "but an American lion, or cougar, known by _savants_
as the _Felis puma_."

"How I should like to have seen it! Had it a mane?"

"No; the puma is without one."

We were crossing another glade, when Gringalet suddenly rushed between
our legs. On looking back, I saw the puma slyly following us.

"Well, upon my word!" said Sumichrast; "does this fellow want to prove
that a cougar will attack a man?"

L'Encuerado, who had put down his load, was already aiming at the
animal.

"Don't shoot!" I cried, authoritatively.

The puma did not advance any farther, but glared at us with its yellow
eyes, its tail lashing its sides with a measured movement, while it
displayed a formidable row of tusks. Suddenly it stretched itself along
the ground, as if about to play. Lucien was now able to examine
leisurely the beautiful tawny color of its coat. It surveyed us with
such a quiet, gentle aspect, that it seemed as if it belonged to our
party, even pushing its confidence so far as to begin its toilet by
first licking its paws, and then rubbing them over its muzzle.

I gave the word for continuing our journey. L'Encuerado obeyed very
reluctantly. After this rencontre I placed Lucien, who congratulated
himself upon having had such a near view of the beautiful animal, in the
middle of the party.

"If we don't eat the lion, it will eat us," said the Indian. "If we had
only wounded it, it would have gone and told all its companions that it
was any thing but prudent to go too close to our fire."

"Well, if it comes near us again, I give you leave to shoot it."

"You do? it's a bargain!" cried L'Encuerado. "Stop a minute, Tata
Sumichrast; cock your gun, Chanito; you shall have the first shot."

We stood together in a group, and I loo