Page:Diary of a Pilgrimage (1891).pdf/229

going to take advantage of your doing so to jump on you, seemed unwise.

Then, too, how about getting up again? In the African desert, of course, you wait until the animal has gone home; but, in this case, the cow lived in the field, and I should have to go on pretending to be dead for perhaps a week!

No; I would try the power of the human eye. The human eye has a very wonderful effect upon animals, so I have been informed. No animal can bear its steady gaze. Under its influence a vague sense of terror gradually steals over the creature's senses; and, after vainly battling for a while against its irresistible power, the animal invariably turns and flies.

So I opened my right eye to its fullest extent, and fixed it hard on that unfortunate cow.

"I will not unduly terrify the poor thing," I said to myself. "I will just frighten her a little, and then let her go; and I will, afterwards, return the way I came, and not needlessly pain her by crossing the field any further."

But what appeared so extraordinary to my mind was, that the cow showed no signs of alarm whatever. "A vague sense of terror" began to gradually—I may say rapidly—steal over one of us, it is certain; but that one was not the cow. I can hardly expect anyone to believe it; but as a matter of fact the cow's eye, fixed with an intensely malevolent expression upon myself, caused more uneasiness to me than did my eye to the cow!

I glared at her harder than ever.