Again they stopped--beneath the window on
which the terrified eyes of the girl now glued themselves.
"God!" she murmured, for now, silhouetted against the
moonlit sky beyond, she saw framed in the tiny square of the
latticed window the head of a huge lioness. The gleaming
eyes were fixed upon her in intent ferocity.
"Look, Esmeralda!" she whispered. "For God's sake, what
shall we do? Look! Quick! The window!"
Esmeralda, cowering still closer to her mistress, took one
frightened glance toward the little square of moonlight, just
as the lioness emitted a low, savage snarl.
The sight that met the poor woman's eyes was too much
for the already overstrung nerves.
"Oh, Gaberelle!" she shrieked, and slid to the floor an inert
and senseless mass.
For what seemed an eternity the great brute stood with its
forepaws upon the sill, glaring into the little room. Presently
it tried the strength of the lattice with its great talons.
The girl had almost ceased to breathe, when, to her relief,
the head disappeared and she heard the brute's footsteps leaving
the window. But now they came to the door again, and
once more the scratching commenced; this time with increasing
force until the great beast was tearing at the massive panels
in a perfect frenzy of eagerness to seize its defenseless victims.
Could Jane have known the immense strength of that door,
built piece by piece, she would have felt less fear of the
lioness reaching her by this avenue.
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