“A chance for a fine shot!” whispered Giant a bit nervously.

“Wait—–­we’ll get a picture first!” said the doctor’s son.  “But keep quiet!”

The others understood, and, hardly daring to breathe, the three lads swung their cameras into position, got them ready for use, and spread out among the bushes to take some snapshots.

The bear was a cautious animal and slowly he circled the pit, sniffing longingly at the carcass so close at hand.  Evidently he desired a meat diet for a change and wanted to get the wildcat very much, but did not quite trust the tree branches and what might be underneath.

Each of the lads got what he thought was a good picture, and then Snap and Giant looked at Shep and touched their guns.  But the doctor’s son did not see them, for he was looking wildly at something between the trees on the other side of the clearing.

“What do you see?” whispered Snap.

“Hush!” answered the doctor’s son.  “Look for yourself.”

Snap and Giant gazed in the direction pointed out, and it must be confessed that the hair of the smaller youth literally rose on end.  There, between two trees, crouched the lion that had escaped from the circus.  The eyes of the monarch of the forest were fastened on the bear, and his tail was swaying from side to side, showing that he was getting ready for a leap.

“Shall we—–­we shoot?” asked Snap.  He was so agitated he could hardly speak.

“Why not take a picture?” asked Shep, who had his camera still in his hand.

“All right—–­but we don’t want that lion to—–­to come this way.”

“Not much!” put in Giant, and it must be confessed that his voice trembled a good deal.  To face a deer or even a bear was one thing; to face a powerful lion was quite another.

Slowly the lion came out from between the two trees.  The bear now had his head turned the other way, so he was not aware of the approach of the enemy.

It made a magnificent picture, and for the moment the boys forgot their own peril and each took two snapshots, one with the lion almost on top of the bear.

Scarcely had they clicked the shutters of the cameras the second time when a blood-curdling roar rent the air, and the lion made one grand leap for the bear.  But as this happened bruin chanced to turn slightly, and with a movement wonderful in such a bulky animal the bear sprang to one side.  The lion missed his would-be prey and slid forward, directly into the mass of tree limbs covering the pit.

“He’s going into the hole!” cried Snap.  “Look!”

All gazed on the scene and saw that Snap was right.  Unable to stop himself, the lion had crashed down between the tree limbs and was now struggling vainly to reach firm ground once more.  The bear backed away and then, turning, sped off among the trees, not over a dozen yards from where the young hunters were in hiding.