“Look out!” screamed Andy, “or the horses will take us right back among those mad cattle.”
With the discovery of the mountain lion, that lay close to the rocky shelf with glaring eyes and tail that swept nervously from side to side, the boys had noted that the animal was as much penned in as they were themselves. Beyond the shelf was an overhanging cliff, so that further progress in that direction was cut off completely. Had this not been so, it is more than likely that the mountain lion would have turned and slunk away, for like all wild beasts they do not fight unless they think it is necessary to do so.
“Come on—give him a shot!” exclaimed Fred, as soon as he could recover from his astonishment.
His weapon was handy, and in a moment the pistol rang out sharply, and this shot was followed by one from his cousin.
Had the two boys been on the ground their shots might have been more effective. But it was another task to aim from the back of a restive horse that was threatening every instant to bolt, and so both bullets merely grazed the mountain lion’s side.
But these shots, mingled with those coming from the plain below, had one good effect. The cattle had been stopped in their mad flight and now they turned back in the direction in which the cowboys wanted them to go.
As the pistols rang out the mountain lion gave a scream of commingled pain and rage. Then it crept forward several feet and made a movement as if on the point of leaping for Fred and his steed.
“Back up! Back up, Fred!” yelled Andy, and fired a second time, and his cousin did likewise.
This time the aim of the boys was better, and the mountain lion was hit in one of the forelegs and in the flank. It made a sudden leap, but the wound in the leg made it fall short, and it fell down between the rocks directly in front of where Fred’s horse was standing.
As the mountain lion went down in the hollow the horse uttered another wild snort and an instant later leaped directly over the wild beast, coming down at the foot of the rocky ledge beyond. The steed Andy rode backed violently until some other rocks stopped its retreat.