pick off the
rearmost of the party, and was disappointed in its object. Seeing that
should we move on the panther would follow with rapid bounds, I ordered
the guides to stand still; and snatching the carbine from Selim's hand,
I knelt down that I might take a surer aim. Knowing, however, that the
Arabs' powder is often very bad, and that, consequently, their weapons
frequently miss fire, I felt very doubtful whether such might not be the
case on the present occasion.

"Silence!" I cried out to my companions, who were still shouting and
hurling fearful epithets at the head of the panther. "Only cry out
should it attempt to spring."

The savage brute came on, and was now within twenty paces. Two or three
bounds might bring it upon us. So, praying that my weapon might prove
faithful, I drew the trigger, aiming at the panther's breast. The piece
going off, I was knocked over by the rebound; for the owner, in loading
it, had put in a double charge: indeed, it was a wonder that it did not
burst. When the smoke cleared away, I caught sight of the panther
struggling on the ground, a few paces only in advance of the spot where
I had last seen it; and the Arabs, shouting "E'sheetan! E'sheetan!" now
rushing forward, plunged their spears into the creature's body, uttering
a curse with every thrust they gave it.

"Allah akbar!" exclaimed one. "It was a regular Jin."

"No doubt about it. You Nazarene have done well; for if you had not
killed him, he might have carried one or all of us off," cried the
other.

I felt very thankful at having succeeded, because I had not only killed
the panther, but had risen considerably in the estimation of my
companions. I should have liked to have had the animal's skin; but I
was unwilling to delay our journey, and we therefore pushed on. I
beckoned to Selim to walk alongside me; and I still carried the carbine,
which I had reloaded from the guide's pouch.

"I think we shall do well," said Selim; "I have been talking to those
men, and they are well-disposed towards us. We shall, therefore, have
no difficulty in escaping from them; indeed, one of them was once a
slave himself, and would like to leave the tribe altogether. I have
been telling him of the countries I have visited and the wonderful
things I have seen, and he is eager to go and see them."

"They may be well-disposed; but we must take care, Selim, that we are
not betrayed by them," I observed. "We must first accomp