| 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 |
| 1 | 20 | 40 | 59 | 79 |
|
www.freeclassicebooks.com
charge ferociously upon me, and but for my third shot would doubtless have slain
me before it finally expired--or as Bowen Tyler so quaintly puts it, before it knew
that it was dead.
With the panther quite evidently conscious of the fact that dissolution had
overtaken it, I turned toward the girl, who was regarding me with evident
admiration and not a little awe, though I must admit that my rifle claimed quite
as much of her attention as did I. She was quite the most wonderful animal that
I have ever looked upon, and what few of her charms her apparel hid, it quite
effectively succeeded in accentuating. A bit of soft, undressed leather was caught
over her left shoulder and beneath her right breast, falling upon her left side to
her hip and upon the right to a metal band which encircled her leg above the
knee and to which the lowest point of the hide was attached. About her waist was
a loose leather belt, to the center of which was attached the scabbard belonging
to her knife. There was a single armlet between her right shoulder and elbow,
and a series of them covered her left forearm from elbow to wrist. These, I
learned later, answered the purpose of a shield against knife attack when the left
arm is raised in guard across the breast or face.
Her masses of heavy hair were held in place by a broad metal band which bore a
large triangular ornament directly in the center of her forehead. This ornament
appeared to be a huge turquoise, while the metal of all her ornaments was
beaten, virgin gold, inlaid in intricate design with bits of mother-of-pearl and tiny
pieces of stone of various colors. From the left shoulder depended a leopard's
tail, while her feet were shod with sturdy little sandals. The knife was her only
weapon. Its blade was of iron, the grip was wound with hide and protected by a
guard of three out-bowing strips of flat iron, and upon the top of the hilt was a
knob of gold.
I took in much of this in the few seconds during which we stood facing each
other, and I also observed another salient feature of her appearance: she was
frightfully dirty! Her face and limbs and garment were streaked with mud and
perspiration, and yet even so, I felt that I had never looked upon so perfect and
beautiful a creature as she. Her figure beggars description, and equally so, her
face. Were I one of these writer-fellows, I should probably say that her features
were Grecian, but being neither a writer nor a poet I can do her greater justice by
saying that she combined all of the finest lines that one sees in the typical
American girl's face rather than the pronounced sheeplike physiognomy of the
Greek goddess. No, even the dirt couldn't hide that fact; she was beautiful
beyond compare.
As we stood looking at each other, a slow smile came to her face, parting her
symmetrical lips and disclosing a row of strong white teeth.
1
5
Page
Quick Jump
|