"'Really,' I said, 'another survivor? I thought all the other goats were
done for.'

"'This particular goat is quite done for,' he said, 'it is being devoured
by a leopard at the present moment. That is why I left the room; some
animals resent being watched while they are eating.'

"The leopard, of course, was easily explained; it had been hanging round
the goat sheds when the flood came, and had clambered up by the outside
staircase leading to the Bishop's bath-room, thoughtfully bringing a goat
with it. Probably it found the bath-room too damp and shut-in for its
taste, and transferred its banqueting operations to the bedroom while the
Bishop was having his nap."

"What a frightful situation!" exclaimed Annabel; "fancy having a ravening
leopard in the house, with a flood all round you."

"Not in the least ravening," said Matilda; "it was full of goat, had any
amount of water at its disposal if it felt thirsty, and probably had no
more immediate wish than a desire for uninterrupted sleep. Still, I
think any one will admit that it was an embarrassing predicament to have
your only available guest-room occupied by a leopard, the verandah choked
up with goats and babies and wet hens, and a Bishop with whom you were
scarcely on speaking terms planted down in your own sitting-room. I
really don't know how I got through those crawling hours, and of course
mealtimes only made matters worse. The emergency cook had every excuse
for sending in watery soup and sloppy rice, and as neither the chief goat-
herd nor his wife were expert divers, the cellar could not be reached.
Fortunately the Gwadlipichee subsides as rapidly as it rises, and just
before dawn the syce came splashing back, with the ponies only fetlock