All the indications pointed to the tiger entering the structure, though it was impossible to imagine his purpose, unless he scented the waste food kept there in a barrel for the pigs belonging to the Widow Gordon.

The attempt the lad had in mind involved a fearful risk; for there could be no doubt that if the beast detected him, he would make him serve for supper.

Probably if Tom had been given a few more minutes to think over the matter, he would have abandoned the design in his mind; but that one hundred dollars looked as big to him as a million does to most people.  Hastily drawing on his trousers, he began stealthily descending the stairs.  Fortunately for him, his aunt and mother were asleep, else they would have put an emphatic veto on his foolhardy scheme.  The bolts of the door were softly slid back, the door itself silently drawn inward an inch or two, and the lad peeped out.  His position gave a full view of the front of the woodshed, and the sight was an interesting one.  The tiger had partially entered.  Indeed, little was seen more than his tail, which, projecting from the darkness of the structure, swayed slowly from side to side, as if he had detected something not altogether pleasing.

“If he goes in, I’ll slip out and hook the door; but, if he comes back, it won’t do to let him see me.”

This was the thought that stirred Tom Gordon, as he peered stealthily out of the crack made by the door.  Could he have thought of any way by which to drive the tiger inside, he would have done so; but there was none.  He could only wait and watch, and hope for a favorable issue of the undertaking.

It struck him as strange that the beast should stand so long with only his tail in the outer air.  The lad fancied it had disappeared entirely; but at the moment he was about to slip forward, he detected the tuft agitating the chips and dirt about the entrance.  He therefore held back and still watched and waited.

There! the brute must have taken another step farther, for no part of his appendage was visible.  He was wholly within the shed.

It was now or never.

Tom left the door open a few inches, so that if he should find it necessary to retreat, he would meet with no trouble in re-entering his home.  In that event, however, it wasn’t likely Tippo Sahib would meet with any trouble in following him.

The heart of the youth throbbed violently when he stepped out in the moonlight and comprehended the perilous nature of the business.

“If he comes out tail first,” was his thought, “I’ll have a chance to dodge him; but if he comes head first, I’ll be a goner.”

He was not idle while these imaginings were passing through his mind.  Step by step, and on tiptoe, he stole forward, until he stood within a couple of paces of the fastening.  Then it was that his courage almost deserted him, and the desire to turn about and make a dash for the door behind him was well-nigh irresistible.