e vivid, palpitating scarlet of
the glistening tongue which hung from the jet-black muzzle. And all
the time that deep, threatening growl was rising and rising in an
unbroken crescendo. I knew that the crisis was at hand.

It was a miserable hour to meet such a death--so cold, so comfortless,
shivering in my light dress clothes upon this gridiron of torment upon
which I was stretched. I tried to brace myself to it, to raise my soul
above it, and at the same time, with the lucidity which comes to a
perfectly desperate man, I cast round for some possible means of
escape. One thing was clear to me. If that front of the cage was only
back in its position once more, I could find a sure refuge behind it.
Could I possibly pull it back? I hardly dared to move for fear of
bringing the creature upon me. Slowly, very slowly, I put my hand
forward until it grasped the edge of the front, the final bar which
protruded through the wall. To my surprise it came quite easily to my
jerk. Of course the difficulty of drawing it out arose from the fact
that I was clinging to it. I pulled again, and three inches of it came
through. It ran apparently on wheels. I pulled again ... and then
the cat sprang!

It was so quick, so sudden, that I never saw it happen. I simply heard
the savage snarl, and in an instant afterwards the blazing yellow eyes,
the flattened black head with its red tongue and flashing teeth, were
within reach of me. The impact of the creature shook the bars upon
which I lay, until I thought (as far as I could think of anything at
such a moment) that they were coming down. The cat swayed there for an
instant, the head and front paws quite close to me, the hind paws
clawing to find a grip upon the edge of the grating. I heard the claws
rasping as they clung to the wire-netting, and the breath of the beast
made me sick. But its bound had been miscalculated. It could not
retain its position. Slowly, grinning with rage, and scratching madly
at the bars, it swung backwards and dropped heavily upon the floor.
With a growl it instantly faced round to me and crouched for another
spring.

I knew that the next few moments would decide my fate. The creature
had learned by experience. It would not miscalculate again. I must
act promptly, fearlessly, if I were to have a chance for life. In an
instant I had formed my plan. Pulling off my dress-coat, I threw it
down over the head of the beast. At the same moment I d