speeding toward them came the big beast, lashing his sides with his tail, evidently in a state of great excitement. gerald trembled as he saw him. there are few, whatever their courage, who would not do so. he did not dare to set out on the way to the village. he thought it better to remain with the lion's keeper and under his protection.
paul king stood calm and imperturbable, waiting the arrival of his lost charge. there was a time when he, too, would have fled, but he had become used to lions and their ways, and felt perfect confidence in his power to subdue them.
as nero came nearer, gerald could see that his jaws were bloody. he guessed that the blood was that of his ill-fated horse.
"he has killed your horse, sure enough," said king. "was he valuable?"
"i paid a hundred dollars for him."
"he wasn't insured against lions?"
"no."
"i am sorry for your loss."
"i shall not mind that if i save my own life."
"your life is in no danger."
by this time the lion was almost upon them. he looked terrible, with the blood-stains about his jaws, but paul king's equanimity was not shaken. one thing, however, he failed to consider, and that was the effect of blood upon the savage brute. great as was his ascendency over nero, the savage instinct of the great animal destroyed the effect of years of discipline.
paul king understood this when nero advanced upon him, unheeding his tone of command.
"down, nero!" he cried; but nero would not down. his wicked eyes glared, his tail lashed his sides, and he rushed at his keeper with hostile intent.
it flashed upon king that nero was becoming dangerous.
"i shall have to kill you!" he cried, between his set teeth.
he fired at the lion, but either the huge animal swerved or something affected his aim, for it did not hit the mark.
then gerald thought it was time for him to act. his life as well as the keeper's was in peril. raising his weapon he took steady aim.
"shoot him in the eye!" exclaimed king.
gerald obeyed, directions. as a boy, of course, he was not a practised marksman; but luck—or perhaps it would be better to say providence—was on his side, and the bullet entered nero's eye and penetrated to his brain. the lion swayed a moment, and then fell over on his side. death seemed to be instantaneous.
"by jove! you have killed him!" exclaimed paul king. "it was a fine shot!"
"is he really dead?" asked gerald, finding it difficult to believe in his success.
"yes, he is dead fast enough. he is dead, and the circus is out nearly five thousand dollars."
"that was better than to have him kill either of us."
"you are right. i never knew nero in such a mood. it must have been the horse's blood that excited him."
"have you any other lion in the show?"
"yes, one; but this was the best."
"shall you leave him here?"
"i will send out some of my men to bury him. he was a grand beast, and deserves burial. and now let us be going back."
"i will get off the horse and leave him to you," said gerald.
"no; since my lion killed your horse, it is only fair that you should ride on mine. to be sure you killed the lion."
"i feel proud of it. i never expected to kill a lion."
"you have reason to be proud. you are the only boy i ever knew that could say as much."
though goldwin was a small town, a circus performance was given there during the evening. five miles away was a mining station, and some seventy-five miners were in attendance. gerald was glad to go, partly because it filled up his evening agreeably, and partly from the taste for such performances which he had in common with most boys of his age.
it was a small show, but goldwin had never had a visit from barnum or forepaugh, and vociferously applauded the clown, the bareback riders, the trapeze performers, and other acts familiar to the regular circus goer.
in cages, in full view of the audience, were a few animals, including a bengal tiger and a lioness. paul king, gerald's acquaintance of the afternoon, described these in succession. when he came to the lioness, he said: "i am sorry not to be able to show you the lion nero, one of the finest specimens ever imported from africa. he has been connected with our show for five years, but this morning he escaped and started out on a jaunt across country. he nearly killed a boy, who slipped off his horse and left the lion to chase the unfortunate animal. he overtook and tore the horse to pieces, and then started on his return.
"i had gone out in search of him, having confidence in my power over him. but i was mistaken. the blood which he had tasted roused his savage nature, and i was compelled to use my gun. but by bad luck i failed, and should myself have fallen a victim, but for the boy who had joined me and shot him in the eye, instantly killing him.
"i cannot show you the lion nero, but i am able to show you the boy who killed him, the only boy within my knowledge who ever killed a lion."
he signaled, to gerald, who rose from his seat, flushed and bashful. the whole audience, and especially the miners, cheered him loudly. gerald bowed his acknowledgment and sat down.
when the performance was over more than one went up to gerald and shook his hand. among them was a tall, slabsided yankee, who closely resembled the pictures of uncle sam.
"i tell you, boy, you're true grit," he said; "take the word of joshua burdoch for that. i've shot a panther, but i own i shouldn't dare to tackle a lion."
"it was a case of necessity," said gerald, smiling. "either i must kill him, or he would have killed me."
"weren't you afraid?"
"yes, i was."
"i think better of you for saying so. some would have denied it and said they were perfectly cool."
"i hope i shall never meet another lion," said gerald. "i am satisfied with killing one."
"where are you going when you leave here?"
"to ransom."
"so am i. suppose we hitch horses?"
"i shall be very glad of your company, mr. burdoch; but, as to hitching horses, i shall have to buy one first. the poor animal i came on was killed by nero."
"you can buy one in town, and if you need money i will lend you some."
"there won't be any trouble about that. i am well provided."
gerald was pleased to have secured as companion, an honest man whom he could trust. moreover, in case of danger or difficulty, he felt that he could rely on joshua burdoch for help.
