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And so, deliberately and without haste, he rose, clinging to the grating for
support. At his first move the lion growled, but after that he paid no further
attention to the man, and when at last Smith-Oldwick had regained his feet the
lion moved indifferently away. Then it was that the man turned and looked about
the enclosure.
Sprawled beneath the shade of the trees and lying upon the long bench beside
the south wall the great beasts rested, with the exception of two or three who
moved restlessly about. It was these that the man feared and yet when two more
of them had passed him by he began to feel reassured, recalling the fact that they
were accustomed to the presence of man.
And yet he dared not move from the grating. As the man examined his
surroundings he noted that the branches of one of the trees near the further wall
spread close beneath an open window. If he could reach that tree and had
strength to do so, he could easily climb out upon the branch and escape, at least,
from the enclosure of the lions. But in order to reach the tree he must pass the
full length of the enclosure, and at the very bole of the tree itself two lions lay
sprawled out in slumber.
For half an hour the man stood gazing longingly at this seeming avenue of
escape, and at last, with a muttered oath, he straightened up and throwing back
his shoulders in a gesture of defiance, he walked slowly and deliberately down the
center of the courtyard. One of the prowling lions turned from the side wall and
moved toward the center directly in the man's path, but Smith-Oldwick was
committed to what he considered his one chance, for even temporary safety, and
so he kept on, ignoring the presence of the beast. The lion slouched to his side
and sniffed him and then, growling, he bared his teeth.
Smith-Oldwick drew the pistol from his shirt. "If he has made up his mind to kill
me," he thought. "I can't see that it will make any difference in the long run
whether I infuriate him or not. The beggar can't kill me any deader in one mood
than another."
But with the man's movement in withdrawing the weapon from his shirt the lion's
attitude suddenly altered and though he still growled he turned and sprang away,
and then at last the Englishman stood almost at the foot of the tree that was his
goal, and between him and safety sprawled a sleeping lion.
Above him was a limb that ordinarily he could have leaped for and reached with
ease; but weak from his wounds and loss of blood he doubted his ability to do so
now. There was even a question as to whether he would be able to ascend the tree
at all. There was just one chance: the lowest branch left the bole within easy
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