“No, for he was already dead, and the odor which pervaded his resting place made me hurry away as fast as if he had been alive.”
“You are a provoking boy!”
Rex laughed. “I did shoot a cheetah in China.”
“A dead one?”
“No, he was snarling over a dead buck.”
“Then you do deserve some respect.”
“If you like. But it was very easy. One bullet settled him. I was fined afterward.”
“Fined! for what?”
“For shooting the Emperor’s trained cheetah. After that I always looked to see if the game wore a silver collar before I fired.”
Ruth would not look as if she heard.