g the action to the word, started
diagonally toward the entrance. Tom and Dick were close after him,
followed by the more courageous of their companions. By this time
several of the animal keepers and trainers had also struggled through
the press, and were hot in pursuit of the fleeing lion. But they were
too far behind to be of any good, and the lion would surely have dashed
headlong into the packed mass of humanity had not Bert and the others
with him intervened. They waved their hats and shouted, and the lion,
somewhat taken aback, halted for a second. Then he gathered himself
together and, with a mighty bound, leaped clear over their heads. With
another spring he cleared the crowd at the entrance, and was free. He
hesitated a moment, looking this way and that, and then, just as one of
the keepers, a rifle in his hand, reached the tent entrance, bounded
swiftly forward and disappeared around a corner.

The trainers started out in hot pursuit, accompanied by Bert and his
friends. "I don't want to shoot him," panted the man with the rifle as
he ran, "he's worth five thousand dollars. He's one of the finest lions
in captivity, and his loss would mean a bad blow to the outfit. But if I
get a crack at him I'll shoot, just the same. We can't run the risk of
trying to capture him alive."

It was not difficult to trace the lion's path, although not once did
they actually catch sight of him. Distant shouts and cries told of the
beast's progress, and their path was lined by closely shut doors and
pale faces peering from upper windows. Soon they reached the outskirts
of the town and then, in the more open country, were able to catch a
glimpse of their quarry. He was about half a mile distant, and evidently
making directly for a dense piece of woodland just ahead of him. Soon
he disappeared among the trees, and the man carrying the rifle, who was
evidently the head trainer, called a halt.

"How far do those woods extend?" he asked Bert.

"Not very far," replied Bert. "I should say there's not more than a
square mile of woodland, at most."

"Well, then," said the other, "the chances are ten to one that Leo will
stick to the trees, and not come out unless he has to. In that case, all
we have to do is surround the place to see that he doesn't get away.
Then I don't think we'll have much trouble recapturing him."

As this seemed to be the opinion of his assistants, too, their leader
sent one of them back to the circus to make