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reach of a man standing on the ground close to the tree's stem, but to reach a
position where the branch would be accessible he must step over the body of a
lion. Taking a deep breath he placed one foot between the sprawled legs of the
beast and gingerly raised the other to plant it upon the opposite side of the tawny
body. "What," he thought, "if the beggar should happen to wake now?" The
suggestion sent a shudder through his frame but he did not hesitate or withdraw
his foot. Gingerly he planted it beyond the lion, threw his weight forward upon it
and cautiously brought his other foot to the side of the first. He had passed and
the lion had not awakened.
Smith-Oldwick was weak from loss of blood and the hardships he had undergone,
but the realization of his situation impelled him to a show of agility and energy
which he probably could scarcely have equaled when in possession of his normal
strength. With his life depending upon the success of his efforts, he swung
himself quickly to the lower branches of the tree and scrambled upward out of
reach of possible harm from the lions below--though the sudden movement in the
branches above them awakened both the sleeping beasts. The animals raised
their heads and looked questioningly up for a moment and then lay back again to
resume their broken slumber.
So easily had the Englishman succeeded thus far that he suddenly began to
question as to whether he had at any time been in real danger. The lions, as he
knew, were accustomed to the presence of men, but yet they were still lions and
he was free to admit that he breathed more easily now that he was safe above
their clutches.
Before him lay the open window he had seen from the ground. He was now on a
level with it and could see an apparently unoccupied chamber beyond, and
toward this he made his way along a stout branch that swung beneath the
opening. It was not a difficult feat to reach the window, and a moment later he
drew himself over the sill and dropped into the room.
He found himself in a rather spacious apartment, the floor of which was covered
with rugs of barbaric design, while the few pieces of furniture were of a similar
type to that which he had seen in the room on the first floor into which he and
Bertha Kircher had been ushered at the conclusion of their journey. At one end
of the room was what appeared to be a curtained alcove, the heavy hangings of
which completely hid the interior. In the wall opposite the window and near the
alcove was a closed door, apparently the only exit from the room.
He could see, in the waning light without, that the close of the day was fast
approaching, and he hesitated while he deliberated the advisability of waiting
until darkness had fallen, or of immediately searching for some means of escape
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