kind of bed imaginable was found, and
he stretched out his weary limbs upon it, thanking Heaven that had
guided him to such a favorable place.

"I hope Lone Wolf won't be able to follow me here," was the wish he
expressed, as he resigned himself to slumber.

But gentle sleep had not yet closed his eyelids when he was alarmed by
hearing something beneath him. His first supposition was that it was
Lone Wolf, for the sound resembled the stealthy tread of some person
upon the soft earth; but after listening a few minutes he became
satisfied that it was some animal instead.

"It's a wolf or panther that has scented my trail," was his conclusion,
as he leaned over and peered cautiously down among the branches.

The moon shone more brightly than upon any night since he had started,
but the shadow of the trees themselves obscured his view so much that
his vision was of little use to him. It seemed to him, however, when he
looked downward in this fashion, that once or twice he caught sight of a
shadowy creature, whisking back and forth, leaping about like a dog, and
apparently ready to make a bound upward among the branches.

But he could not make certain of what he saw, although there could be no
doubt but that he heard something, and that some kind of a dangerous
creature was close at hand.

"I guess he isn't going to hurt me," was his conclusion, after watching
and listening a half hour, and after finding a heavy drowsiness was
stealing over him. In this comfortable state of mind, he soon closed his
eyes, and relapsed into a deep, refreshing sleep, which lasted an hour
or more, when it ended in a peculiar manner. Very few boys are apt to
lie quiet in their beds, and Ned Chadmund, in turning over upon his
side, turned completely out of bed, and dropped through the branches to
the ground.

The fall was so slight that it did not hurt him, except in the
disagreeable shock that was inevitable. It flashed on him on the
instant, and, recalling those stealthy footsteps that had so frightened
him, he instantly sprang for the trunk, and began climbing with all the
haste at his command. He was almost within reach of the limbs, when he
heard a growl, and some denizen of the forest came plunging toward him.

With a thrill of terror, the lad made a tremendous effort, caught the
limb with one hand, swung his leg over and drew himself up. As he did
so, he felt distinctly the wind made by the body of the beast, as it
leaped upward, a