CHAPTER XLIV. 



PEERING OUT INTO THE GLOOM. 



T| CANNOT conceive of any situation more trying to the nerves than that of Bob 



Marshall. Had it been daytime, when he was able to locate his foe, he would 



T^ have been pleased rather than otherwise, for the spice of danger would have 



given a pleasant thrill, just as had been the case more than once while on his way 



to the camp in South Africa. Now, while his dependence was on his sense of 



hearing, he listened intently for the growl that he had caught a few minutes 



before. But the warning was not repeated. 



I am glad to say that my young friend's nerves were not kept at this painful 

 tension for any length of time, though the period seemed ten-fold greater than it was. 



The flickering lightning suddenly spread into one vivid flame, which illumined 

 earth and sky with a distinctness greater than that of midday, while the appalling 

 crash, as before, shook the very earth. 



It so happened that at the moment the shock came, Bob had turned half way 

 'round, and was looking directly behind him. The sight which met his eyes could 

 not have been more terrifying. 



Less than fifty feet off, a huge lion was crouching on the earth, and stealthily 

 creeping toward him. A few more seconds, and he would be close enough to make 

 his leap, which would land him upon Bob's shoulders, who would be as helpless as 

 an infant. 



There was the single revelation, and then instantly all became profound gloom 

 again. Lion, earth, sky, all were swallowed up in darkness. 



The distance to camp was short, and the natural instinct of the young sports- 

 man was to dash thither at full speed ; but to do so was fatal, since the lion would 

 have been on him before he could have traveled one-quarter the way. 



No; there was but one course to take, and, knowing the value of every second, 

 Bob Marshall did not hesitate. 



Although unable to see the king of beasts, he knew precisely where he was, and 

 he was so accustomed to handling his rifle, that he could aim without glancing 

 along the barrel. 



It would be too much to say that he was able to fire with anything like the accu- 

 racy he would have shown in the daytime, but he was confident of " getting there," 

 all the same. 



Up went the gun to his shoulder, and Bob let fly with five shots, as rapidly as 

 he could pump them from his weapon. That number, he felt, ought to be sufficient, 

 and prudence told him to keep a reserve for other contingencies that might arise 

 before he could reach his friends. 



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