When he felt sure that he had perfectly subdued the ferocity of hiscapricious companion, whose hunger had been satisfied so cruelly thenight before, he got up to leave the grotto. The panther let him go, butwhen he had climbed the hill, she came bounding after him with thelightness of a sparrow hopping from branch to branch, and rubbedherself against the soldier's leg, arching her back after the fashion of acat. Then looking at her guest with eyes whose brightness had grownless inflexible, she uttered that savage cry which naturalists havecompared to the sound of a saw.<br> "What an exacting beauty！" cried the Frenchman, smiling. He sethimself to play with her ears, to caress her body, and to scratch herhead hard with his nails. Then, growing bolder with success, hetickled her skull with the point of his dagger, watching for the spot tostrike her. But the hardness of the bones made him afraid of failing.<br> The sultana of the desert approved the action of her slave byraising her head, stretching her neck, and showing her delight by thequietness of her attitude. The Frenchman suddenly reflected that inorder to assassinate this fierce princess with one blow he need onlystab her in the neck. He had just raised his knife for the attempt, whenthe panther, with a graceful action, threw herself upon the groundbefore his feet, casting him from time to time a look in which, in spiteof its ferocity of nature, there was a gleam of tenderness.<br> The poor Provencal, with his back against a palm tree, ate hisdates, while he cast inquiring glances, now towards the desert fordeliverers, now upon his terrible companion, to keep an eye upon herdubious clemency. Every time he threw away a date-stone, the pantherfixed her eyes upon the spot with inconceivable mistrust. Shescrutinized the Frenchman with a business-like attention; but theexamination seemed favorable, for when he finished his poor meal, shelicked his boots, and with her rough, strong tongue removed the dustincrusted in their creases.<br> ……
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