far away. He cried out, and swung his
gun shoulderwards in desperation. But, at the moment, Pourcette turned
sharply round, saw his danger, caught his gun, and fired as the puma
sprang. There had been no chance for aim, and the beast was only
wounded. It dropped upon the man. He let the gun fall; it rolled
and fell over the cliff. Then came a scene, wicked in its peril to
Pourcette, for whom no aid could come, though two men stood watching the
great fight--Shon M'Gann, awake now, and Lawless--with their guns silent
in their hands. They dare not fire, for fear of injuring the man, and
they could not reach him in time to be of help.

There against the weird solitary sky the man and the puma fought. When
the animal dropped on him, Pourcette caught it by the throat with both
hands, and held back its fangs; but its claws were furrowing the flesh
of his breast and legs. His long arms were of immense strength, and
though the pain of his torn flesh was great he struggled grandly with
the beast, and bore it away, from his body. As he did so he slightly
changed the position of one hand. It came upon a welt-a scar. When he
felt that, new courage and strength seemed given him. He gave a low
growl like an animal, and then, letting go one hand, caught at the knife
in his belt. As he did so the puma sprang away from him, and crouched
upon the rock, making ready for another leap. Lawless and Shon could see
its tail curving and beating. But now, to their astonishment, the man
was the aggressor. He was filled with a fury which knows nothing of
fear. The welt his fingers had felt burned them.

He came slowly upon the puma. Lawless could see the hard glitter of his
knife. The puma's teeth sawed together, its claws picked at the rocks,
its body curved for a spring. The man sprang first, and ran the knife
in; but not into a mortal corner. Once more they locked. The man's
fingers were again at the puma's throat, and they swayed together, the
claws of the beast making surface havoc. But now as they stood up, to
the eyes of the fearful watchers inextricably mixed, the man lunged
again with his knife, and this time straight into the heart of the
murderer. The puma loosened, quivered, fell back dead. The man rose to
his feet with a cry, and his hands stretched above his head, as it were
in a kind of ecstasy. Shon forgot his gold and ran; Lawless hurried
also.

When the two men got to the spot they found Pourcette binding up his
wounds. He cam