ar was one thing;
to face a powerful lion was quite another.

Slowly the lion came out from between the two trees. The bear now
had his head turned the other way, so he was not aware of the
approach of the enemy.

It made a magnificent picture, and for the moment the boys forgot
their own peril and each took two snapshots, one with the lion
almost on top of the bear.

Scarcely had they clicked the shutters of the cameras the second
time when a blood-curdling roar rent the air, and the lion made one
grand leap for the bear. But as this happened bruin chanced to
turn slightly, and with a movement wonderful in such a bulky
animal the bear sprang to one side. The lion missed his would-be
prey and slid forward, directly into the mass of tree limbs covering
the pit.

"He's going into the hole!" cried Snap. "Look!"

All gazed on the scene and saw that Snap was right. Unable to
stop himself, the lion had crashed down between the tree limbs
and was now struggling vainly to reach firm ground once more.
The bear backed away and then, turning, sped off among the trees,
not over a dozen yards from where the young hunters were in hiding.

"The bear---he's coming this way!" yelled Snap.

"Shoot him!" screamed Giant. And he brought around his gun.

All tried to get a shot, but the trees were too thick, and in
a few seconds the bear was out of sight, crashing down the brushwood
as he went.

He was badly frightened, and with good cause, for a lion was a new
enemy for him.

As the bear disappeared the boy hunters turned their attention again
to the lion. The monarch of the forest was doing his best to climb
over the tree limbs, which turned and bent between him.

"Shall we shoot him?" queried Snap. "If he gets loose."

"There he goes!" shouted Shep.

As the doctor's son spoke they heard a tree limb snap in twain. For
one instant the lion clung to the broken end, then, with a roar, the
beast sank out of sight into the pit.

CHAPTER XXIV

A NOTABLE CAPTURE

"We've got him! We've got him!" shouted Snap, and his heart gave
a wild bound of pleasure.

"Don't be too sure," cautioned the doctor's son. "Wait---keep
your gun ready for use."

"That's it---he may get out of the pit," came from Giant. "Don't
take any risks. He could kill a fellow in a minute, if he got the
chance!"

They waited, each with his gun ready. Down in the pit they heard
the lion growling and slashing around. Evidently he was