usly pursuing their task the sky had gradually lost its pristine
purity of blue and had become a pale colourless grey, in which the sun
seemed to hang like a ghastly white radiant ball, shorn of his beams.
The distant landscape first became unnaturally clear and distinct in all
its details and then became veiled in a sort of murky haze. Presently a
sharply defined ridge of cloud made its appearance above the south-
western horizon, spreading rapidly toward the zenith, and the hunters
began to realise that they were in for a thorough wetting, if for
nothing worse. Mildmay, indeed, who was perhaps better acquainted than
anyone else in the party with the character of the tropics, strongly
urged upon his companion, Lethbridge, the desirability of abandoning the
chase and returning with all speed to the ship; and the latter,
impressed by the lieutenant's earnestness, once rose cautiously to his
feet with the intention of signalling a return to the other contingent,
but the baronet and the scientist were at that moment invisible, so the
colonel sank once more on all-fours and the chase went on.

Suddenly a sound like a low growling roar, closely followed by a shrill
scream, came floating down to the hunters upon the wings of the almost
stagnant breeze, and, springing hastily to their feet, they saw that a
magnificent leopard had sprung upon the back of one of the hornless
unicorns, and was tearing savagely at its neck and throat with its teeth
and claws, the rest of the herd, with one exception, being in full
flight. The exception was a fine male unicorn, which, with bristling
mane and half-averted body, stood motionless save for a quick angry
stamping of his fore-feet upon the ground, watching the unavailing
struggles of his hapless companion. These were of very short duration,
a staggering gallop of a few yards sufficing to exhaust the victim's
strength, when she reeled and fell headlong to the ground with her
savage rider still clinging tenaciously to her back. This, apparently,
was the moment which the male unicorn had been waiting for. Bounding
forward at lightning speed and with lowered head he charged full upon
the prostrate pair, and, as the leopard faced round toward him with an
angry snarl, the long straight pointed horn was levelled and in another
instant the great cat was hurled ruthlessly from the quivering body of
his victim, transfixed through eye and brain by the formidable weapon of
his vengeful antagoni