Little did John Clayton imagine when he fashioned that
crude but mighty portal that one day, twenty years later, it
would shield a fair American girl, then unborn, from the
teeth and talons of a man-eater.
For fully twenty minutes the brute alternately sniffed and
tore at the door, occasionally giving voice to a wild, savage
cry of baffled rage. At length, however, she gave up the
attempt, and Jane heard her returning toward the window,
beneath which she paused for an instant, and then launched
her great weight against the timeworn lattice.
The girl heard the wooden rods groan beneath the impact; but
they held, and the huge body dropped back to the ground below.
Again and again the lioness repeated these tactics, until
finally the horrified prisoner within saw a portion of the
lattice give way, and in an instant one great paw and the head
of the animal were thrust within the room.
Slowly the powerful neck and shoulders spread the bars
apart, and the lithe body protruded farther and farther into
the room.
As in a trance, the girl rose, her hand upon her breast,
wide eyes staring horror-stricken into the snarling face of the
beast scarce ten feet from her. At her feet lay the prostrate
form of the Negress. If she could but arouse her, their combined
efforts might possibly avail to beat back the fierce and
bloodthirsty intruder.
Jane stooped to grasp the black woman by the shoulder.
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