he rocks
directly in front of where Fred's horse was standing.

As the mountain lion went down in the hollow the horse uttered another
wild snort and an instant later leaped directly over the wild beast,
coming down at the foot of the rocky ledge beyond. The steed Andy rode
backed violently until some other rocks stopped its retreat.

"Hi there! What are you shooting at?" came a cry from below, and the two
boys recognized the voice of Joe Jackson.

"It's a lion!" called back Andy.

"Then plug him! Plug him quick!" yelled Jackson. "Plug him before he gets
a chance to get at you!"

There was no need for this advice, for Andy was already taking aim. This
time the bullet passed through the body of the lion and the beast leaped
up, turning over and over convulsively. Then Fred managed to steady his
mount for a moment, and he, too, fired, this time catching the mountain
lion in the ear. Then the beast gave a final leap and tumbled down the
rocks almost at the feet of the astonished ranch foreman.

"Are you hurt?" demanded Jackson anxiously, as he gave a glance at the
lion to make certain that it was breathing its last.

"No," came from both of the boys. But it must be confessed that their
voices were trembling. They had all they could do to quiet their horses,
the steeds showing a great inclination to leap over the rough rocks and
run away.

By the time that Fred and Andy managed to descend to the plain below them
the stampede of the cattle, which had been only momentary, was coming to
an end, only two steers having run away for parts unknown.

"But they'll come back, Boss," said one of the cowboys to Jackson. "They
always do. You can't hire 'em to herd by themselves. They'll sure be
back."

"A mountain lion! What do you know about that!" exclaimed Jack, as he
came riding up, followed by the other boys.

"Did he hurt you at all?" questioned Spouter quickly.

"He didn't get a chance," answered Fred, just a bit proudly. "Andy and I
let drive at him almost as soon as we saw him."

"A pretty powerful beast, I'll say," remarked Gif, as he made an
examination of the lion that was now dead. "I don't think I'd like to
face such a creature."

"We had to fight him," declared Andy. "He was right up on that rocky
shelf yonder, and he couldn't back out. If he had had the chance he'd
have leaped right on us."

"Well, you're the prize hunters of this crowd," declared Randy.

"You can't put that down to hunting," answered