purposes of his own, had cut them through but an instant before
Numa had frightened him from his victim.

For a moment Jane Clayton was overwhelmed with joy and thanksgiving;
but only for a moment. What good was her new-found liberty in the
face of the frightful beast crouching so close beside her? If she
could have had this chance under different conditions, how happily
she would have taken advantage of it; but now it was given to her
when escape was practically impossible.

The nearest tree was a hundred feet away, the lion less than fifty.
To rise and attempt to reach the safety of those tantalizing
branches would be but to invite instant destruction, for Numa would
doubtless be too jealous of this future meal to permit it to escape
with ease. And yet, too, there was another possibility--a chance
which hinged entirely upon the unknown temper of the great beast.

His belly already partially filled, he might watch with indifference
the departure of the girl; yet could she afford to chance so
improbable a contingency? She doubted it. Upon the other hand
she was no more minded to allow this frail opportunity for life
to entirely elude her without taking or attempting to take some
advantage from it.

She watched the lion narrowly. He could not see her without turning
his head more than halfway around. She would attempt a ruse.
Silently she rolled over in the direction of the nearest tree, and
away from the lion, until she lay again in the same position in
which Numa had left her, but a few feet farther from him.