CHAPTER VIII.
HER DEBT CANCELED.
He begins to reason, to strain his mind in search of all the things he ever heard with relation to a meeting between unarmed men and wild beasts.
The power of the human eye has been held up as an example, and surely here is a chance to try it—the stake, his life.
By this time he becomes cognizant of a certain fact that renders him uneasy; the yellow orbs do not seem as far away as before, and it is evident that they approach gradually nearer.
He can even imagine the great body of the animal, perhaps a tiger from African shores, creeping on its belly, inch by inch shortening the distance between itself and its prey.
John cannot retreat—already he is in a corner, with the wall behind, so that all he can do is to await developments.
Nearer still, until scarcely five feet separate him from the glowing orbs, he can even hear the animal's stentorian breathing.
John prepares for a terrible struggle; he holds his hands out so as to clutch the great beast by the throat as he advances, and his muscles are strained in order to sustain the shock.
Just when he expects to hear the roar of a hunger-stricken beast, he is astonished beyond measure at what occurs.