Patrick O’Brian - Caesar & Hussein - Two Classic Novels from the Author of MASTER AND COMMANDER

On the sides of some of the passages there were some pictures which looked something like men, but I could not be quite sure. And in one of the tunnels which led nowhere there were a lot of skeletons of men, but there was no meat on them, as they had been dead many years and some of them were falling to dust. Often I thought that I saw a creature of some sort, but I was never able to catch it, and I did not think it ever saw me, or if it did, it never attacked me, so I did not worry about it, as there was plenty of meat running about on the mountains.

One day, however, as I was going into my cave I heard a growl from the corner, and turning in its direction, I saw a pair of green eyes staring at me, and in the pitch dark of the corner I could not make out what it was at first, but when it bounded towards me I observed that she was a snow leopard nearly as big as myself.

She appeared very thin and hungry, and evidently she was trying to frighten me away from the goat which I was carrying, and I saw that she was wounded in the right forepaw. Then she saw that I was no enemy and she made friendly noises.

In a short time we had made friends, and I let her have some of my goat. It appears that she had wounded her foot on a porcupine a week before, and had hardly been able to get enough food, as it hindered her running powers.

I think she had lived in the tunnel nearly all her life, hunting in the valley and between the first range and the main mountain. As I was feeling very lonely we played together, and in the morning we went out to hunt.

When she came out into the daylight I saw how beautiful she was, with her white coat and the black line on her ears which extended down to her forehead and made her look very fine. She seemed to know this and also admired my spots, and I saw that she had quite a lot of intelligence.

When we sighted a solitary sha, which was feeding behind a rock, I felt that here was a chance to prove to her how clever I was.

So pushing her into a snowdrift I set off after it. It sighted me sooner than I expected, so I gave chase, running at top speed, and killed it just in front of her. She pretended to be looking the other way, but I could see that she was much impressed, and I drew myself up with pride at my fine size and strength for her benefit.

Hearing no appreciative purr, in answer to all my fine postures, I turned and saw that she was sitting with her back to me and was starting to eat the sha.

I was justly enraged as I saw that she was eating the best part, which is, in my opinion, the shoulder. So stealing up behind her I gave her a sharp nip in the tail, and she relinquished the shoulder to me.

After this we went down to the lake, and I saw a red panda, who made off on seeing us.

Then she showed me a rock from which one could catch fish, and she tried to do so by crouching on the rock which overhung the water with one paw hanging down, but with no success.

As I had done this once or twice in the stream outside my first home I thought that I could show her how it was done, so I got on to the rock, and after waiting for some time I saw a fish. Then I darted down my paw to scoop him out, but I over-reached myself and fell in, much to her amusement; in fact, the foolish thing made quite a noise, as if it was funny. I also saw the red panda on the other side of the lake looking highly amused.

Presently we went back to the cave where we slept. As night was coming on I woke up before she did because she kept grunting and rolling in her sleep, so for a joke I suddenly jumped on her and roared in her ear, but curiously enough she didn’t see the joke, though it was very funny. She appeared quite offended and cross. Some leopards, I thought, can never see a joke against themselves.

Soon she recovered herself, and as one small goat was hardly enough for a whole day, we went out, and between us surprised a small troop of sheep and goats and secured a large fat one.

I picked it up and began to go home, but my greedy companion thought that I was going to make off with it and tried to snatch it away. I calmed her, and when we reached the cave I let her have the shoulder, to her very great content.

For a year we lived together hunting in the valley and living in the main cave of the tunnels, and in spring our four cubs arrived.

At first my wife would not let me see them, but as I hunted nearly all day and night for food for both of us, at last she showed them to me. I have never been so proud and happy all my life as when I saw the four little cubs.

They were the most beautiful creatures that have ever been born, of that I was firmly convinced.

Their eyes were not open then, but I thought they looked even better for that. They could hardly walk, and as they went sprawling about they made the most delightful little noises.

Soon my wife drove me away, however, and as I did not sleep in the main cave for fear of disturbing the cubs, I went out into one of the side passages and slept for a few hours at a time.

I woke up suddenly with a sense of guilt, for I thought she might be wanting something to eat. So I went very quietly through the cave and out into the open. I encountered a large wolf, who was looking down the tunnel, but he cleared off as I came out.

Then I went up towards the big mountains, where I knew most of the game had gone. As it had been a very hard winter, which was continuing into spring, I had driven off all the goats within miles of the cave. I had to go farther afield, and recently a large wolf pack which usually hunted twenty miles down the valley had come up nearer to us, also some snow leopards. Both helped to clear off the game. So as my wife was very fond of bharal meat I had to go right over the valley for it. As I went I thought that if the spring weather did not come soon we should have to move our quarters, which might be bad for the cubs.

Presently I reached the usual path down which the bharals used to come to get to their favourite feeding-place, but I was forestalled by a snow leopard.

It was plain that he had not seen me, and by the code which my mother taught me I should have left them to him, but I thought that my cubs’ health was far more important than that of the snow leopard, who had no family.

So I concealed myself behind a boulder and waited for the bharals. Presently one came along, and I thought that if I let this chance go it might get the scent either of the snow leopard or myself, so I jumped out, but it saw me at once and fled towards the snow leopard, who seized it and then stood growling at me. I thought for a few moments and then, seeing that he was not very big, I charged.

We closed, and the leopard, after a few minutes’ struggle, managed to get a grip on my throat with his teeth and slashed at me with his long claws. But I got one paw under his head and I pushed with all my strength.

For a few minutes I felt the claws raking into my flesh, but then there was a ripping sound as the skin and fur that my enemy was holding gave way. His head slipped back and I sank my teeth deep into his neck. He gave a coughing roar and blood spurted all over me, and he fell to the ground with his limbs twitching.