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 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, an