"How could he? How could he have untied the wire from the tree? There is something peculiar about this affair, Dad."
Whatever Dad's opinion might have been, he did not express it at the moment. Instead he got down on all fours, examining the ground carefully, going over every inch of it for several rods about the scene.
"Well this does git me," he declared, standing up, scratching his head reflectively.
By that time the rest of the party had come out.
"The lion's gone," shouted Tad.
"What, my lion got away?" wailed Chunky. "And he didn't take a chunk out of me to carry away with him?"
"I had no idea we could hold him. Of course he gnawed the rope in two," nodded the Professor.
"He didn't get loose of his own accord, sir," replied the guide.
"Then you don't mean to tell me that some person or persons liberated him?"
"I don't mean to tell you anything, because I don't know anything about it. I never was so befuddled in my life. I'm dead-beat, Professor."