have heard it, for she
threw up her head with a grunt, and stood for a moment listening.

"`Only a squirrel, perhaps!' thought she, and again resumed her
occupation.

"The cougar now appeared coming from behind the trunk; and, after
looking cautiously about him, commenced crawling out along the branch.
On reaching one of its forks, he gathered himself like a cat; and then,
with a terrific scream, sprang down upon the back of his victim. His
claws were buried in her neck at the first dash; and his long body
covered hers--his hind-legs and tail warping around her. The frightened
animal uttered a shrill cry, and struggled to free herself. Both rolled
over on the ground--the peccary all the while gnashing her jaws, and
continuing to send forth her strange sharp cries, until the woods echoed
again. Even the young ones ran around, mixing in the combat--now flung
sprawling upon the earth, now springing up again, snapping their little
jaws, and imitating the cry of their mother. The cougar alone fought in
silence. Since the first wild scream, not a sound had escaped him; but
from that moment his claws never relaxed their hold; and we could see
that with his teeth he was silently tearing the throat of his victim.

"The combat did not last long--only a few moments. The peccary soon
ceased to struggle, and lay upon her side--still in the embrace of her
terrible adversary--who had now torn open the veins of the neck, and
was, silently and cat-like, lapping the warm blood.

"With all the hostility which we felt for the cowardly cougar, we did
not deem it prudent to interfere. We knew that he would serve us just
as he was doing the peccary, if he only knew that we were so convenient
to him; and we therefore remained perfectly still, not daring to move
even a limb. He was not thirty yards from us, for the struggle had
brought both him and his victim nearer to our tree. I could have shot
him as he lay crouching in the enjoyment of his red meal; but I knew too
well the the uncertainty of killing such a muscular and powerful animal
with a rifle bullet; and I resolved to let him finish his feast, and
take himself off if he would, without any hindrance on our part.

"We were not allowed much time to think about it; for the combat was
hardly over, when strange voices reached our ears, coming from the
woods, apparently on all sides of us. They had reached the ears of the
cougar, too; for the fierce brute started suddenly to h