e edge.

Half-stunned, he lost his hold and fell with a startled _pfiff_ on the
snow, while his victim, bleeding, but not mortally hurt, ran bleating
towards the rest of the flock, where they floundered, stupidly
helpless, in three feet of soft snow.

The next moment the baffled lynx recovered himself, and faced the girl
with so menacing a snarl that she hesitated to follow up her
advantage, but paused, holding the axe in readiness to repel attack.

For a few seconds they faced each other so, the girl and the beast.
Then the pale, beast eyes shifted under the steady, dominating gaze of
the blue human ones; and at last, with a spitting growl, which ended
in a hoarse screech of rage, the big cat bounded aside and whisked
behind the well-house. The next moment it was again among the sheep,
where they huddled incapable of a struggle.

Again the girl sprang to the rescue; and now, because of that one
flash of fear which had deprived her of her first advantage, her
avenging wrath was fiercer and more resolute than before. This time,
as she darted upon the enemy, she gave an involuntary cry of rage,
piercing and unnatural. At this unexpected sound the lynx, desperate
though he was with rage and hunger, lost his courage.

Seeing the girl towering almost over him, he doubled back with a
mighty leap, just avoiding the vengeful sweep of the axe, and darted
back to the front of the shed, where his mate was now ravenously
feasting on her easy prey.

Although the first victim was now past all suffering, being no more a
motive for heroism than so much mutton, the girl's blood was too hot
with triumphant indignation to let her think of such an unimportant
point as that. She was victor. She had outfaced and routed the foe.
She had saved one victim. She would avenge the other.

With the high audacity of those who have overcome fear, she now, with
a hysterical cry of menace, ran at the two lynxes, to drive them from
their prey.

The situation which she now confronted, however, was altogether
changed from what had gone before. The two lynxes were together,
strong in that alliance which they had formed for purpose of battle.
They were fairly mad with famine--or, indeed, they would never have
ventured on the perilous domains of man.

Moreover, they were in possession of what they held to be their lawful
prey--a position in defence of which all the hunting tribes of the
wild will fight against almost any odds. As they saw their str