we walked, some gaudy bird would flutter up from the grass, or some
curious beast slink into the cover. Finally he led me down a corridor
which extended from one wing of the house. At the end of this there
was a heavy door with a sliding shutter in it, and beside it there
projected from the wall an iron handle attached to a wheel and a drum.
A line of stout bars extended across the passage.

"I am about to show you the jewel of my collection," said he. "There is
only one other specimen in Europe, now that the Rotterdam cub is dead.
It is a Brazilian cat."

"But how does that differ from any other cat?"

"You will soon see that," said he, laughing. "Will you kindly draw
that shutter and look through?"

I did so, and found that I was gazing into a large, empty room, with
stone flags, and small, barred windows upon the farther wall. In the
centre of this room, lying in the middle of a golden patch of sunlight,
there was stretched a huge creature, as large as a tiger, but as black
and sleek as ebony. It was simply a very enormous and very well-kept
black cat, and it cuddled up and basked in that yellow pool of light
exactly as a cat would do. It was so graceful, so sinewy, and so
gently and smoothly diabolical, that I could not take my eyes from the
opening.

"Isn't he splendid?" said my host, enthusiastically.

"Glorious! I never saw such a noble creature."

"Some people call it a black puma, but really it is not a puma at all.
That fellow is nearly eleven feet from tail to tip. Four years ago he
was a little ball of back fluff, with two yellow eyes staring out of
it. He was sold me as a new-born cub up in the wild country at the
head-waters of the Rio Negro. They speared his mother to death after
she had killed a dozen of them."

"They are ferocious, then?"

"The most absolutely treacherous and bloodthirsty creatures upon earth.
You talk about a Brazilian cat to an up-country Indian, and see him get
the jumps. They prefer humans to game. This fellow has never tasted
living blood yet, but when he does he will be a terror. At present he
won't stand anyone but me in his den. Even Baldwin, the groom, dare
not go near him. As to me, I am his mother and father in one."

As he spoke he suddenly, to my astonishment, opened the door and
slipped in, closing it instantly behind him. At the sound of his voice
the huge, lithe creature rose, yawned and rubbed its round, black head
affectionately against his s