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Before
coming
up
with
the
scout
,
an
incident
occurred
to
vary
the
monotony
of
the
march
.
Instead
of
keeping
along
the
avenue
,
the
major
had
conducted
his
command
in
a
diagonal
direction
through
the
chapparal
.
He
had
done
this
to
avoid
giving
unnecessary
pain
to
the
afflicted
father
;
who
would
otherwise
have
looked
upon
the
life-blood
of
his
son
,
or
at
least
what
the
major
believed
to
be
so
.
The
gory
spot
was
shunned
,
and
as
the
discovery
was
not
yet
known
to
any
other
save
the
major
himself
,
and
the
tracker
who
had
made
it
,
the
party
moved
on
in
ignorance
of
the
existence
of
such
a
dread
sign
.
The
path
they
were
now
pursuing
was
a
mere
cattle-track
,
scarce
broad
enough
for
two
to
ride
abreast
.
Here
and
there
were
glades
where
it
widened
out
for
a
few
yards
,
again
running
into
the
thorny
chapparal
.
On
entering
one
of
these
glades
,
an
animal
sprang
out
of
the
bushes
,
and
bounded
off
over
the
sward
.
A
beautiful
creature
it
was
,
with
its
fulvous
coat
ocellated
with
rows
of
shining
rosettes
;
its
strong
lithe
limbs
supporting
a
smooth
cylindrical
body
,
continued
into
a
long
tapering
tail
;
the
very
type
of
agility
;
a
creature
rare
even
in
these
remote
solitudes
--
the
jaguar
.
Its
very
rarity
rendered
it
the
more
desirable
as
an
object
to
test
the
skill
of
the
marksman
;
and
,
notwithstanding
the
serious
nature
of
the
expedition
,
two
of
the
party
were
tempted
to
discharge
their
rifles
at
the
retreating
animal
.
They
were
Cassius
Calhoun
,
and
a
young
planter
who
was
riding
by
his
side
.
The
jaguar
dropped
dead
in
its
tracks
:
a
bullet
having
entered
its
body
,
and
traversed
the
spine
in
a
longitudinal
direction
.
Which
of
the
two
was
entitled
to
the
credit
of
the
successful
shot
?
Calhoun
claimed
it
,
and
so
did
the
young
planter
.
The
shots
had
been
fired
simultaneously
,
and
only
one
of
them
had
hit
.
"
I
shall
show
you
,
"
confidently
asserted
the
ex-officer
,
dismounting
beside
the
dead
jaguar
,
and
unsheathing
his
knife
.
"
You
see
,
gentlemen
,
the
ball
is
still
in
the
animal
's
body
?
If
it
's
mine
,
you
'll
find
my
initials
on
it
--
C.C.
--
with
a
crescent
.
I
mould
my
bullets
so
that
I
can
always
tell
when
I
've
killed
my
game
.
"
The
swaggering
air
with
which
he
held
up
the
leaden
missile
after
extracting
it
told
that
he
had
spoken
the
truth
.
A
few
of
the
more
curious
drew
near
and
examined
the
bullet
.
Sure
enough
it
was
moulded
as
Calhoun
had
declared
,
and
the
dispute
ended
in
the
discomfiture
of
the
young
planter
.
