light from a fire-fly shone
faintly from some leaf.

A minute passed, all eager watchfulness, and at the slightest rustle
indicating action on the part of the animal Lane would have drawn
trigger. But all remained still, and the young man asked himself what
he had better do.

There were other trees about, but not one which offered such a
satisfactory lodging, so easy to reach.

"One oughtn't to mind a cat on the premises," he laughingly said to
himself at last. "It would keep away nuisances, but this is too much of
a cat, and wants to have all the bed to itself."

He hesitated about firing into the tree to scare the beast, partly from
the idea that it might irritate it into springing and taking him at a
disadvantage, for as he stood there the light was behind him, so that he
must be plain to his invisible enemy; then, in the smoke, he would be
unable to make out his foe, and there would be no chance or time to take
aim with the second barrel, and he knew what the result would be--the
brute seizing him with teeth and claws, holding on fast while it tore
him with its hind legs, as a cat does a rat.

"A miserable end at the beginning of one's life," thought Lane.
"Discretion's the better part of valour," he muttered. "I'll go back
and find another tree."

He stood for a few minutes longer, in the utter silence, listening for
some movement from his enemy, but there was none. Then he began to hope
that it had stolen away, and he moved slightly--drawing back to go in
search of fresh lodgings. But at the first step there was a savage
growl, such as might have been uttered by a magnified cat, and his
fingers moved to press the trigger, as he stood firm, with the butt of
the piece pressed to his shoulder, and his cheek against the stock.

The snarling ceased and all was dead silence again, while, oddly enough,
the old story of the Irish soldier came to Lane's mind:

"Please, sor, I've caught a Tartar prisoner."

"Bring him along, then."

"Please, sor, he won't come."

"Then come without him."

"Please, sor, he won't let me."

For, in spite of his excitement and its accompanying alarm, Lane could
not help smiling at his predicament. He knew that if he beat a retreat
the beast would spring at him, and taking into consideration the fact
that he would be better off if he took the offensive and advanced, he at
once acted upon the latter course.

Taking a step forward, there was another savage snarl, and he ai