A Passion in the Desert | Page 6

like velvet formed beautiful bracelets round her feet;
her sinuous tail was also white, ending with black rings; the overpart of
her dress, yellow like burnished gold, very lissome and soft, had the
characteristic blotches in the form of rosettes, which distinguish the
panther from every other feline species.
This tranquil and formidable hostess snored in an attitude as graceful as
that of a cat lying on a cushion. Her blood-stained paws, nervous and
well armed, were stretched out before her face, which rested upon them,
and from which radiated her straight slender whiskers, like threads of
silver.
If she had been like that in a cage, the Provencal would doubtless have
admired the grace of the animal, and the vigorous contrasts of vivid
color which gave her robe an imperial splendor; but just then his sight
was troubled by her sinister appearance.
The presence of the panther, even asleep, could not fail to produce the
effect which the magnetic eyes of the serpent are said to have on the
nightingale.
For a moment the courage of the soldier began to fail before this danger,
though no doubt it would have risen at the mouth of a cannon charged
with shell. Nevertheless, a bold thought brought daylight to his soul
and sealed up the source of the cold sweat which sprang forth on his
brow. Like men driven to bay, who defy death and offer their body to
the smiter, so he, seeing in this merely a tragic episode, resolved to play
his part with honor to the last.
"The day before yesterday the Arabs would have killed me, perhaps,"
he said; so considering himself as good as dead already, he waited
bravely, with excited curiosity, the awakening of his enemy.
When the sun appeared, the panther suddenly opened her eyes; then she
put out her paws with energy, as if to stretch them and get rid of cramp.
At last she yawned, showing the formidable apparatus of her teeth and
pointed tongue, rough as a file.
"A regular petite maitresse," thought the Frenchman, seeing her roll
herself about so softly and coquettishly. She licked off the blood which
stained her paws and muzzle, and scratched her head with reiterated
gestures full of prettiness. "All right, make a little toilet," the
Frenchman said to himself, beginning to recover his gaiety with his
courage; "we'll say good morning to each other presently;" and he

seized the small, short dagger which he had taken from the Maugrabins.
At this moment the panther turned her head toward the man and looked
at him fixedly without moving. The rigidity of her metallic eyes and
their insupportable luster made him shudder, especially when the
animal walked towards him. But he looked at her caressingly, staring
into her eyes in order to magnetize her, and let her come quite close to
him; then with a movement both gentle and amorous, as though he
were caressing the most beautiful of women, he passed his hand over
her whole body, from the head to the tail, scratching the flexible
vertebrae which divided the panther's yellow back. The animal waved
her tail voluptuously, and her eyes grew gentle; and when for the third
time the Frenchman accomplished this interesting flattery, she gave
forth one of those purrings by which cats express their pleasure; but
this murmur issued from a throat so powerful and so deep that it
resounded through the cave like the last vibrations of an organ in a
church. The man, understanding the importance of his caresses,
redoubled them in such a way as to surprise and stupefy his imperious
courtesan. When he felt sure of having extinguished the ferocity of his
capricious companion, whose hunger had so fortunately been satisfied
the day before, he got up to go out of the cave; the panther let him go
out, but when he had reached the summit of the hill she sprang with the
lightness of a sparrow hopping from twig to twig, and rubbed herself
against his legs, putting up her back after the manner of all the race of
cats. Then regarding her guest with eyes whose glare had softened a
little, she gave vent to that wild cry which naturalists compare to the
grating of a saw.
"She is exacting," said the Frenchman, smilingly.
He was bold enough to play with her ears; he caressed her belly and
scratched her head as hard as he could. When he saw that he was
successful, he tickled her skull with the point of his dagger, watching
for the right moment to kill her, but the hardness of her bones made
him tremble for his success.
The sultana of the desert showed herself gracious to her slave; she
lifted her head, stretched out her neck and manifested her delight