ollowing of slaves
and huntsmen, Zabbai the soldier departed, and with him went his niece,
Bath Zabbai, or Zenobia, now a fearless young huntress of fifteen. Space
will not permit to tell of the wonders and excitement of that wild-beast
hunt--a hunt in which none must be killed but all must be captured
without mar or wound. Such a trapping of wolves and bears and buffaloes
was there, such a setting of nets and pitfalls for the mountain lion and
the Syrian leopard, while the Arab hunters beat, and drove, and shouted,
or lay in wait with net and blunted lance, that it was rare sport to the
fearless Zenobia, who rode her fleet Arabian horse at the very head of
the chase, and, with quick eye and practised hand, helped largely to
swell the trophies of the hunt. What girl of to-day, whom even the
pretty little jumping-mouse of Syria would scare out of her wits, could
be tempted to witness such a scene? And yet this young Palmyrean girl
loved nothing better than the chase, and the records tell us that she
was a "passionate hunter," and that---she pursued with ardor the wild
beasts of the desert and thought nothing of fatigue or peril.

So, through dense Armenian forests and along rugged mountain paths, down
rock-strewn hill-slopes and in green, low-lying valleys, the chase
swept on: and one day, in one of the pleasant glades which, half-sun
and half-shadow, stretch away to the Lebanon hills, young Bath Zabbai
suddenly reined in her horse in full view of one of the typical hunting
scenes of those old days. A young Arabian hunter had enticed a big
mountain lion into one of the strong-meshed nets of stout palm fibres,
then used for such purposes. His trained leopard or cheetah had drawn
the beast from his lair, and by cunning devices had led him on until the
unfortunate lion was half-entrapped. Just then, with a sudden swoop, a
great golden eagle dashed down upon the preoccupied cheetah, and buried
his talons in the leopard's head. But the weight of his victim was
more than he had bargained for; the cheetah with a quick upward dash
dislodged one of the great bird's talons, and, turning as quickly,
caught the disengaged leg in his sharp teeth. At that instant the lion,
springing at the struggling pair, started the fastenings of the net,
which, falling upon the group, held all three prisoners. The eagle and
the lion thus ensnared sought to release themselves, but only ensnared
themselves the more, while the cunning cheetah, versed i