He said
he would not escape without him, and could fetch him in a moment, as
he was only just below. Well, he went to do so, and must have found the
guard instead, who, I suppose, had heard us talking. You know as much
about the rest as I do. To-night, when the full moon is two hours high,
there is to be a ceremony of sacrifice, and poor Higgs will be let down
into the den of lions. He was writing his will in a note-book when we
saw him, as Barung had promised to send it to us."

"Doctor," said the Sergeant, in a confidential voice, when he had
digested this information, "would you translate for me a bit, as I want
to have a talk with Cat there, and my Arabic don't run to it?"

I nodded, and we went to that corner of the plateau where Shadrach stood
apart, watching and listening.

"Now, Cat," said the Sergeant (I give his remarks in his own language,
leaving out my rendering) "just listen to me, and understand that if
you tell lies or play games either you or I don't reach the top of this
cliff again alive. Do you catch on?"

Shadrach replied that he caught on.

"Very well. You've told us that once you were a prisoner among the
Fung and thrown to these holy lions, but got out. Now just explain what
happened."

"This, O Quick. After ceremonies that do not matter, I was let down in
the food-basket into the feeding-den, and thrown out of the basket like
any other meat. Then the gates were lifted up by the chains, and the
lions came in to devour me according to their custom."

"And what happened next, Shadrach?"

"What happened? Why, of course I hid myself in the shadow as much as
possible, right against the walls of the precipice, until a satan of
a she-lion snuffled me out and gave a stroke at me. Look, here are the
marks of her claws," and he pointed to the scars upon his face. "Those
claws stung like scorpions; they made me mad. The terror which I had
lost when I saw their yellow eyes came back to me. I rushed at the
precipice as a cat that is hunted by a dog rushes at a wall. I clung
to its smooth side with my nails, with my toes, with my teeth. A lion
leaped up and tore the flesh of my leg, here, here," and he showed the
marks, which we could scarcely see in that dim light. "He ran back for
another spring. Above me I saw a tiny ledge, big enough for a hawk to
sit on--no more. I jumped, I caught it, drawing up my legs so that the
lion missed me. I made the effort a man makes once in his life. Somehow
I dragg