He came back, half crouched, noiselessly, stealthily, the hair of the
belly almost touching the ground, for all the world like a cat about to
spring upon an unsuspecting sparrow.

He came to a standstill within an inch of the bars and threw his
pointed ears straight forward so that they stood out at right angles to
the beautifully marked face; spasmodically twitched back the mouth
without a sound issuing therefrom, and then lay down and pressed his
head against the bars.

The tiny hand was stroking the silky ears, patting the head, and
prodding contentedly into the thick fur of the neck when suddenly with
a mighty heart-quaking roar the tiger leapt up and back, and then
hurled himself at the bars.

The keeper had crept, bent double, along the inside of the barrier, and
had most suddenly and surprisingly seized Leonie by the waist and
wrenched her free from the bars to which she had tried to cling,
holding her like a vice in his arms where she vainly kicked and
struggled for freedom.




CHAPTER VII

". . . that man could not be altogether cleared
from injustice in dealing with beasts as he now
does."--_Plutarch_.