Only ten feet from him, in front seats, sat Kit and Dan.
Kit rose in his seat pale and excited, but with a resolute fire in his eyes. He had thought of a way to vanquish the lion.
CHAPTER V.
HOW KIT VANQUISHED THE LION.
The danger was imminent. Under the canvas there were at least two thousand spectators. Smyrna had less than five thousand inhabitants, but from towns around there were numerous excursion parties, which helped to swell the number present. Had these people foreseen the terrible scene not down on the bills, they would have remained at home and locked the doors of their houses. But danger is seldom anticipated and peril generally finds us unprepared.
Dan Clark saw Kit about to leave his seat.
"Where are you going?" he cried.
"I am going into the arena."
"What? Are you out of your head?" asked Dan, and he took hold of Kit to detain him. But the boy tore himself from the grasp of his friend, and with blanched brow, for he knew full well the risk he ran, he sprang over the parapet, and in an instant he stood in the sawdust circle facing the angry monarch of the wilds, whose presence had struck terror into the hearts of two thousand members of a superior race.
The sudden movement of Kit created a sensation only less than the appearance of the lion.
The residents of Smyrna all knew him, but they could not understand the cause of his apparent fool-hardiness.