CHAPTER XVI
THE NIGHT ATTACK
AS THE girl turned to bid them good night, she thought that she saw a shadowy form moving in the darkness beyond them, and almost simultaneously she was sure that she heard the sounds of stealthy movement in the same direction.
"What is that?" she whispered. "There is something out there in the darkness."
"Yes," replied Tarzan, "it is a lion. It has been there for some time. Hadn't you noticed it before?"
"Oh!" cried the girl, breathing a sigh of relief, "it is our lion?"
"No," said Tarzan, "it is not our lion; it is another lion and he is hunting."
"He is stalking us?" asked the girl.
"He is," replied the ape-man. Smith-Oldwick fingered the grip of his pistol.
Tarzan saw the involuntary movement and shook his head.
"Leave that thing where it is, Lieutenant," he said.
The officer laughed nervously. "I couldn't help it you know, old man," he said; "instinct of self-preservation and all that."
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