The
flash of the sun on the barrel and the explosion of the discharge
were simultaneous. As the red man fired, the other flung up his
arms, plunged forward on his face, gave one convulsive tremor
through all his limbs, and moved no more. The discovery, the chase
and its termination had occupied but five minutes; and while one big
man, panting from his exertions, approached only to see that his
fallen victim showed no sign of life, the other, with his face amid
the alpine flowers, remained where he had dropped, his arms
outstretched, his hands clenched, his body still, blood running from
his mouth.
The conqueror took careful note of the spot in which he stood and
bringing a knife from his pocket blazed the stem of a young tree
that rose not very far from his victim. Then he disappeared and
peace reigned above the fallen. So still he lay that another fox,
scared from its siesta, poked a black muzzle round a rock and
sniffed the air; but it trusted not appearances and having
contemplated the recumbent object lifted its head, uttered a dubious
bark and trotted away.
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