making for me, for he couldn't have known anything of my relations

toward Dian. At any rate he leaped full upon her back and dragged

her down. There ensued forthwith as terrible a battle as one would

wish to see if battles were gaged by volume of noise and riotousness

of action. I thought that both the beasts would be torn to shreds.

When finally the female ceased to struggle and rolled over on her

back, her forepaws limply folded, I was sure that she was dead.

Raja stood over her, growling, his jaws close to her throat. Then

I saw that neither of them bore a scratch. The male had simply

admin-istered a severe drubbing to his mate. It was his way of

teaching her that I was sacred.

After a moment he moved away and let her rise, when she set about

smoothing down her rumpled coat, while he came stalking toward

Dian and me. I had an arm about Dian now. As Raja came close I

caught him by the neck and pulled him up to me. There I stroked

him and talked to him, bidding Dian do the same, until I think he

pretty well understood that if I was his friend, so was Dian.

For a long time he was inclined to be shy of her, often baring his

teeth at her approach, and it was a much longer time before the

female made friends with us. But by careful kindness, by never

eating without sharing our meat with them, and by feeding them from

our hands, we finally won the confidence of both animals. However,

that was a long time after.

With the two beasts trotting after us, we returned to where we had

left Juag. Here I had the dickens' own time keeping the female from

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