“He must have brought me here,” he murmured.  “Perhaps he thought I was dead!”

Although Dick did not know it, he had been at the bottom of the hollow all evening and all night.  The sun was now up once more, but it was a day later than he imagined.

The hollow was damp and full of ants and other insects, and as soon as he felt able the youth got up.  There was a big lump behind his left ear where the stick had descended, and this hurt not a little.

“I’ll get square with him some day,” he muttered, as he tried to crawl out of the hollow.  “He has more courage to play the villain than I gave him credit for.  Sometime I’ll face him again, and then things will be different.”

It was no easy matter to get out of the hollow.  The sides were steep and slippery, and four times poor Dick tried, only to slip back to the bottom.  He was about to try a fifth time, when a sound broke upon his ears which caused him great alarm.  From only a short distance away came the muffled roar of a lion.

Dick had never heard, this sound out in the open before, but he had heard it a number of times at the circus and at the menagerie in Central Park, New York, and he recognized the roar only too well.

“A lion!” he thought.  “My gracious!  I trust he isn’t coming this way!”

But he was coming that way, as Dick soon discovered.  A few seconds of silence were followed by another roar which to, the alarmed youth appeared to come from almost over his head.  Then came a low whine, which was kept up for fully a minute, followed by another roar.  Dick hardly knew what was best —­ to remain at the bottom of the hollow or try to escape to some tree at the top of the opening.  “If I go up now he may nab me on sight,” he thought dismally.  “Oh, if only I had my —­ thank Heaven, I have!”

Dick had felt for his pistol before, to find it gone.  But now he spotted the glint of the shiny barrel among the leaves.  The weapon had fallen from his person at the time Crabtree had pitched him into the hollow.  He reached for it, and to his joy found that it was fully loaded and ready for use.

Presently he heard the bushes overhead thrust aside, and then came a half roar, half whine that made him jump.  Looking up, he saw a lion standing on the edge of the hollow facing him.

The monarch of the forest was holding one of his forepaws up and now he sat down on his haunches to lick the limb.  Then he set up another whine and shook the limb painfully.

“He has hurt that paw,” thought Dick.  “Wonder if he sees me?”

Yes, he did see, just at that instant, and started back in astonishment.  Then his face took on a fierce look and he gave a roar which could be heard for miles around.

Crack!  It was the report of Dick’s pistol, but the youth was nervous, and the bullet merely glanced along the lion’s body, doing little or no damage.  The beast roared again, then crouched down and prepared to leap upon the youth.