"No?" he said politely, and she knew he did not--whereupon she felt

distinctly humbled.

"You know you speak such excellent English," she said irrelevantly.

He bowed low. As he straightened his figure, to his amazement, he beheld

an agonizing look of horror on her face; her eyes riveted on the mouth

of the cavern. Then, there came an angrier sound, unlike any that had

gone before in that night of turmoil.

"Look there! Quick!"

The cry of terror from the girl's palsied lips, as she pointed to

something behind him, awoke the mountain man to instant

action. Instinctively, he snatched his long dagger from its sheath and

turned quickly. Not twenty feet from them a huge cat-like beast stood

half crouched on the edge of the darkness, his long tail switching

angrily. The feeble light from the depth of the cave threw the long,

water-soaked visitor into bold relief against the black wall beyond.

Apparently, he was as much surprised as the two who glared at him, as

though frozen to the spot. A snarling whine, a fierce growl, indicated

his fury at finding his shelter--his lair occupied.

"My God! A mountain lion! Ravone! Franz! To me!" he cried hoarsely, and

sprang before her shouting loudly to the sleepers.

A score of men, half awake, grasped their weapons and struggled to their

feet in answer to his call. The lion's gaunt body shot through the

air. In two bounds, he was upon the goat-hunter. Baldos stood squarely

and firmly to meet the rush of the maddened beast, his long dagger

poised for the death-dealing blow.

"Run!" he shouted to her.

Beverly Calhoun had fighting blood in her veins. Utterly unconscious of

her action, at the time, she quickly drew the little silver-handled

revolver from the pocket of her gown. As man, beast and knife came

together, in her excitement she fired recklessly at the combatants

without any thought of the imminent danger of killing her

protector. There was a wild scream of pain from the wounded beast, more

pistol shots, fierce yells from the excited hunters, the rush of feet

and then the terrified and almost frantic girl staggered and fell

against the rocky wall. Her wide gray eyes were fastened upon the

writhing lion and the smoking pistol was tightly clutched in her hand.

It had all occurred in such an incredible short space of time that she

could not yet realize what had happened.

Her heart and brain seemed paralyzed, her limbs stiff and

immovable. Like the dizzy whirl of a kaleidoscope, the picture before

her resolved itself into shape.

The beast was gasping his last upon the rocky floor, the hilt of the

goat hunter's dagger protruding from his side. Baldos, supported by two

of his men, stood above the savage victim, his legs covered with blood.

The cave was full of smoke and the smell of powder. Out of the haze she

began to see the light of understanding. Baldos alone was injured. He

had stood between her and the rush of the lion, and he had saved her, at

a cost she knew not how great.




readonlinefreebook.com Copyright 2016 - 2024