"We must rest here without our supper," said I, with a gayety I was far from feeling; "if we go on walking, we might lose ourselves."
After cutting some fagots and making a fire in a semicircle round a tree I lay down, with my dear companion beside me; and, though I tried hard to conceal it, I could not but feel the gloomiest forebodings.
About midnight the breeze calmed down, and I closed my eyes that I might the better hear the slightest noise. Several times I thought I caught the faintest vibrations of a dull sound; but I ultimately attributed these noises to my over-excited imagination. Suddenly a terrible roar re-echoed through the forest and woke up Lucien.
"What is the matter? Is it Chéma?"
"No, my boy; it is a jaguar."
"Will it come near us?"
"I hope not, but go on with its nocturnal hunting; anyhow, behind the fire we have nothing to fear."
I put Lucien back against the tree and cocked my gun, when the head and bright eyes of a superb jaguar appeared about fifty paces from us.
