CHAPTER XXIII. A WOMAN OF BULIKA
I turned aside into an alley, and sought shelter in a small archway. In the mouth of it I stopped, and looked out at the moonlight which filled the alley. The same instant a woman came gliding in after me, turned, trembling, and looked out also. A few seconds passed; then a huge leopard, its white skin dappled with many blots, darted across the archway. The woman pressed close to me, and my heart filled with pity. I put my arm round her.
“ If the brute come here, I will lay hold of it,” I said, “and you must run.”
“ Thank you!” she murmured.
“ Have you ever seen it before?” I asked.
“ Several times,” she answered, still trembling. “She is a pet of the princess’s. You are a stranger, or you would know her!”
“ I am a stranger,” I answered. “But i
