high, had a short, ugly head, and an enormous thick neck.

"'It's a hyaena,' I cried; 'it must have escaped from Lord
Pabham's Park.'

"At that moment the hunted beast turned and faced its pursuers,
and the hounds (there were only about six couple of them) stood
round in a half-circle and looked foolish. Evidently they had
broken away from the rest of the pack on the trail of this alien
scent, and were not quite sure how to treat their quarry now they
had got him.

"The hyaena hailed our approach with unmistakable relief and
demonstrations of friendliness. It had probably been accustomed
to uniform kindness from humans, while its first experience of a
pack of hounds had left a bad impression. The hounds looked more
than ever embarrassed as their quarry paraded its sudden intimacy
with us, and the faint toot of a horn in the distance was seized
on as a welcome signal for unobtrusive departure. Constance and I
and the hyaena were left alone in the gathering twilight

"'What are we to do?' asked Constance.

"'What a person you are for questions,' I said.

"'Well, we can't stay here all night with a hyaena,' she retorted.

"'I don't know what your ideas of comfort are,' I said; 'but I
shouldn't think of staying here all night even without a hyaena.
My home may be an unhappy one, but at least it has hot and cold