got up almost
close enough to fire when Jerry whispered, "O Harry, what is that? It's
Fleming, dear! dear!"

Just below where the puma was crouching down ready to make his fatal
spring, lay the form of the old seaman; but whether he was dead, or
asleep, or fainting, we could not tell. There was not a moment to be
lost. In another instant the savage brute would have fixed his claws in
his throat. We rushed on--so did old Surley. The puma had actually
begun his spring when we fired. Both our bullets took effect, but still
he leaped forward. He fell close to Fleming. Our shipmate sprang up on
his knees, but it was only to receive the claws of the brute on his
chest. The blow knocked him over. We were running on and shouting all
the time, to distract the attention of the puma.

"He is killed! he is killed!" cried Jerry. "No." In an instant, with a
clasp-knife in his hand, Fleming was up again and plunging away at the
throat of the brute. He rose to his knees. He gave stab after stab,
and prevented the puma from fixing its jaws on his own throat, which
seemed the aim of the enraged animal. The brave Surley was at his
flanks tearing and biting at them with all his might.

"Hold on, Fleming," we shouted; "we will be up to you directly."

"Fire! fire!" cried Fleming; "I can't keep the brute back much longer."

At length Surley's attack seemed to produce more effect on the puma.
For a moment he turned round to try to repel him. Fleming seized the
opportunity, and, taking better aim than he had hitherto been able to
do, plunged his knife right up to the hilt in the animal's breast, and
then sprang back out of his way. We came up at the same moment, barely
in time to save Surley from some severe handling, for the puma had
turned all his fury on him. We stopped and loaded, and then running on
got close up to the beast, to run no risk of hitting the dog, and fired.
Over he rolled, giving a few spasmodic clutches with his claws, and
with a snarl expired.

"You've saved my life anyhow, young gentlemen," said Fleming. "When I
felt the brute's claws on my breast, before I saw you and honest Surley
there, I thought it was all over with me."

Surley was standing over the dead body of the puma, and he seemed to
think that he had had the chief hand in killing him. We were very proud
of the trophy; and when we found that Fleming was scarcely injured,
though his clothes were somewhat torn, we were very glad that th