As Smith-Oldwick realized that he was alone and practi-cally defenseless in an enclosure filled with great lionshe was, in his weakened condition, almost in a stateverging upon hysterical terror. Clinging to the grating forsupport he dared not turn his head in the direction of thebeasts behind him. He felt his knees giving weakly beneathhim. Something within his head spun rapidly around. He be-came very dizzy and nauseated and then suddenly all wentblack before his eyes as his limp body collapsed at the footof the grating.

How long he lay there unconscious he never knew; but asreason slowly reasserted itself in his semi-conscious state hewas aware that he lay in a cool bed upon the whitest of linenin a bright and cheery room, and that upon one side close tohim was an open window, the delicate hangings of whichwere fluttering in a soft summer breeze which blew in from asun-kissed orchard of ripening fruit which he could see with-out -- an old orchard in which soft, green grass grew betweenthe laden trees, and where the sun filtered through the foliage;and upon the dappled greensward a little child was playingwith a frolicsome puppy.

"God," thought the man, "what a horrible nightmare I havepassed through!" and then he felt a hand stroking his brow andcheek -- a cool and gentle hand that smoothed away histroubled recollections. For a long minute Smith-Oldwick layin utter peace and content until gradually there was forcedupon his sensibilities the fact that the hand had becomerough, and that it was no longer cool but hot and moist; andsuddenly he opened his eyes and looked up into the face of ahuge lion.

Lieutenant Harold Percy Smith-Oldwick was not only anEnglish gentleman and an officer in name, he was also whatthese implied -- a brave man; but when he realized that thesweet picture he had looked upon was but the figment of adream, and that in reality he still lay where he had fallen atthe foot of the grating with a lion standing over him licking hisface, the tears sprang to his eyes and ran down his cheeks.Never, he thought, had an unkind fate played so cruel a jokeupon a human being.

For some time he lay feigning death while the lion, havingceased to lick him, sniffed about his body. There are somethings than which death is to be preferred; and there came atlast to the Englishman the realization that it would be betterto die swiftly than to lie in this horrible predicament until hismind broke beneath the strain and he went mad.

And so, deliberately and without haste, he rose, clinging tothe grating for support. At his first move the lion growled,but after that he paid no further attention to the man, andwhen at last Smith-Oldwick had regained his feet the lionmoved indifferently away. Then it was that the man turnedand looked about the enclosure.

Sprawled beneath the shade of the trees and lying upon thelong bench beside the south wall the great beasts rested, withthe exception of two or three who moved restlessly about. Itwas these that the man feared and yet when two more of themhad passed him by he began to feel reassured, recalling thefact that they were accustomed to the presence of man.

And yet he dared not move from the grating. As the manexamined his surroundings he noted that the branches of oneof the trees near the further wall spread close beneath an openwindow. If he could reach that tree and had strength todo so, he could easily climb out upon the branch and escape,at least, from the enclosure of the lions. But in order toreach the tree he must pass the full length of the enclosure,and at the very bole of the tree itself two lions lay sprawledout in slumber.

For half an hour the man stood gazing longingly at thisseeming avenue of escape, and at last, with a muttered oath,he straightened up and throwing back his shoulders in a ges-ture of defiance, he walked slowly and deliberately down thecenter of the courtyard. One of the prowling lions turnedfrom the side wall and moved toward the center directly inthe man's path, but Smith-Oldwick was committed to what heconsidered his one chance, for even temporary safety, and sohe kept on, ignoring the presence of the beast. The lionslouched to his side and sniffed him and then, growling, hebared his teeth.

Smith-Oldwick drew the pistol from his shirt. "If he hasmade up his mind to kill me," he thought. "I can't see that itwill make any difference in the long run whether I infuriatehim or not. The beggar can't kill me any deader in one moodthan another."

But with the man's movement in withdrawing the weaponfrom his shirt the lion's attitude suddenly altered and thoughhe still growled he turned and sprang away, and then at lastthe Englishman stood almost at the foot of the tree that was hisgoal, and between him and safety sprawled a sleeping lion.

Above him was a limb that ordinarily he could have leapedfor and reached with ease; but weak from his wounds and lossof blood he doubted his ability to do so now. There was evena question as to whether he would be able to ascend the treeat all. There was just one chance: the lowest branch left thebole within easy reach of a man standing on the ground closeto the tree's stem, but to reach a position where the branchwould be accessible he must step over the body of a lion.Taking a deep breath he placed one foot between the sprawledlegs of the beast and gingerly raised the other to plant it uponthe opposite side of the tawny body. "What," he thought, "ifthe beggar should happen to wake now?" The suggestionsent a shudder through his frame but he did not hesitate orwithdraw his foot. Gingerly he planted it beyond the lion,threw his weight forward upon it and cautiously brought hisother foot to the side of the first. He had passed and the lionhad not awakened.

Smith-Oldwick was weak from loss of blood and the hard-ships he had undergone, but the realization of his situationimpelled him to a show of agility and energy which he prob-ably could scarcely have equaled when in possession of hisnormal strength. With his life depending upon the success ofhis efforts, he swung himself quickly to the lower branches ofthe tree and scrambled upward out of reach of possible harmfrom the lions below -- though the sudden movement in thebranches above them awakened both the sleeping beasts. Theanimals raised their heads and looked questioningly up for amoment and then lay back again to resume their brokenslumber.

So easily had the Englishman succeeded thus far that hesuddenly began to question as to whether he had at any timebeen in real danger. The lions, as he knew, were accustomedto the presence of men, but yet they were still lions and hewas free to admit that he breathed more easily now that he wassafe above their clutches.

Before him lay the open window he had seen from theground. He was now on a level with it and could see anapparently unoccupied chamber beyond, and toward this hemade his way along a stout branch that swung beneath theopening. It was not a difficult feat to reach the window, anda moment later he drew himself over the sill and droppedinto the room.

He found himself in a rather spacious apartment, the floor ofwhich was covered with rugs of barbaric design, while the fewpieces of furniture were of a similar type to that which he hadseen in the room on the first floor into which he and BerthaKircher had been ushered at the conclusion of their journey.At one end of the room was what appeared to be a curtainedalcove, the heavy hangings of which completely hid the inte-rior. In the wall opposite the window and near the alcove wasa closed door, apparently the only exit from the room.

He could see, in the waning light without, that the close ofthe day was fast approaching, and he hesitated while he de-liberated the advisability of waiting until darkness had fallen,or of immediately searching for some means of escape from thebuilding and the city. He at last decided that it would do noharm to investigate beyond the room, that he might have someidea as how best to plan his escape after dark. To this end hecrossed the room toward the door but he had taken only afew steps when the hangings before the alcove separated andthe figure of a woman appeared in the opening.

She was young and beautifully formed; the single draperywound around her body from below her breasts left no detailof her symmetrical proportions unrevealed, but her face wasthe face of an imbecile. At sight of her Smith-Oldwick halted,momentarily expecting that his presence would elicit screamsfor help from her. On the contrary she came toward himsmiling, and when she was close her slender, shapely fingerstouched the sleeve of his torn blouse as a curious child mighthandle a new toy, and still with the same smile she examinedhim from head to foot, taking in, in childish wonderment,every detail of his apparel.

Presently she spoke to him in a soft, well-modulated voicewhich contrasted sharply with her facial appearance. Thevoice and the girlish figure harmonized perfectly and seemedto belong to each other, while the head and face were thoseof another creature. Smith-Oldwick could understand no wordof what she said, but nevertheless he spoke to her in hisown cultured tone, the effect of which upon her was evidentlymost gratifying, for before he realized her intentions or couldprevent her she had thrown both arms about his neck and waskissing him with the utmost abandon.

The man tried to free himself from her rather surprisingattentions, but she only clung more tightly to him, and sud-denly, as he recalled that he had always heard that one musthumor the mentally deficient, and at the same time seeing inher a possible agency of escape, he dosed his eyes and re-turned her embraces.

It was at this juncture that the door opened and a manentered. With the sound from the first movement of the latch,Smith-Oldwick opened his eyes, but though he endeavored todisengage himself from the girl he realized that the newcomerhad seen their rather compromising position. The girl, whoseback was toward the door, seemed at first not to realize thatsomeone had entered, but when she did she turned quicklyand as her eyes fell upon the man whose terrible face was nowdistorted with an expression of hideous rage she turned,screaming, and fled toward the alcove. The Englishman,flushed and embarrassed, stood where she had left him. Withthe sudden realization of the futility of attempting an explana-tion, came that of the menacing appearance of the man, whomhe now recognized as the official who had received them in theroom below. The fellow's face, livid with insane rage and,possibly, jealousy, was twitching violently, accentuating themaniacal expression that it habitually wore.

For a moment he seemed paralyzed by anger, and then witha loud shriek that rose into an uncanny wail, he drew hiscurved saber and sprang toward the Englishman. To Smith-Oldwick there seemed no possible hope of escaping the keen-edged weapon in the hands of the infuriated man, and thoughhe felt assured that it would draw down upon him an equallysudden and possibly more terrible death, he did the only thingthat remained for him to do -- drew his pistol and fired straightfor the heart of the oncoming man. Without even so much asa groan the fellow lunged forward upon the floor at Smith-Oldwick's feet -- killed instantly with a bullet through theheart. For several seconds the silence of the tomb reigned inthe apartment.

The Englishman, standing over the prostrate figure of thedead man, watched the door with drawn weapon, expectingmomentarily to hear the rush of feet of those whom he wassure would immediately investigate the report of the pistol.But no sounds came from below to indicate that anyone therehad heard the explosion, and presently the man's attentionwas distracted from the door to the alcove, between the hang-ings of which the face of the girl appeared. The eyes werewidely dilated and the lower jaw dropped in an expression ofsurprise and awe.

The girl's gaze was riveted upon the figure upon the floor,and presently she crept stealthily into the room and tiptoedtoward the corpse. She appeared as though constantly poisedfor flight, and when she had come to within two or three feetof the body she stopped and, looking up at Smith-Oldwick,voiced some interrogation which he could not, of course, un-derstand. Then she came close to the side of the dead manand kneeling upon the floor felt gingerly of the body.

Presently she shook the corpse by the shoulder, and thenwith a show of strength which her tenderly girlish form belied,she turned the body over on its back. If she had been indoubt before, one glance at the hideous features set in deathmust have convinced her that life was extinct, and with therealization there broke from her lips peal after peal of mad,maniacal laughter as with her little hands she beat upon theupturned face and breast of the dead man. It was a gruesomesight from which the Englishman involuntarily drew back --a gruesome, disgusting sight such as, he realized, might neverbe witnessed outside a madhouse or this frightful city.

In the midst of her frenzied rejoicing at the death of theman, and Smith-Oldwick could attribute her actions to noother cause, she suddenly desisted from her futile attacks uponthe insensate flesh and, leaping to her feet, ran quickly to thedoor, where she shot a wooden bolt into its socket, thus secur-ing them from interference from without. Then she returnedto the center of the room and spoke rapidly to the Englishman,gesturing occasionally toward the body of the slain man. Whenhe could not understand, she presently became provoked andin a sudden hysteria of madness she rushed forward as thoughto strike the Englishman. Smith-Oldwick dropped back afew steps and leveled his pistol upon her. Mad though shemust have been, she evidently was not so mad but what shehad connected the loud report, the diminutive weapon, and thesudden death of the man in whose house she dwelt, for sheinstantly desisted and quite as suddenly as it had come uponher, her homicidal mood departed.

Again the vacuous, imbecile smile took possession of herfeatures, and her voice, dropping its harshness, resumed thesoft, well-modulated tones with which she had first addressedhim. Now she attempted by signs to indicate her wishes, andmotioning Smith-Oldwick to follow her she went to the hang-ings and opening them disclosed the alcove. It was rathermore than an alcove, being a fair-sized room heavy with rugsand hangings and soft, pillowed couches. Turning at theentrance she pointed to the corpse upon the floor of the outerroom, and then crossing the alcove she raised some draperieswhich covered a couch and fell to the floor upon all sides,disclosing an opening beneath the furniture.

To this opening she pointed and then again to the corpse,indicating plainly to the Englishman that it was her desirethat the body be hidden here. But if he had been in doubt,she essayed to dispel it by grasping his sleeve and urging himin the direction of the body which the two of them then liftedand half carried and half dragged into the alcove. At firstthey encountered some difficulty when they endeavored toforce the body of the man into the small space she had selectedfor it, but eventually they succeeded in doing so. Smith-Old-wick was again impressed by the fiendish brutality of the girl.In the center of the room lay a blood-stained rug which thegirl quickly gathered up and draped over a piece of furniturein such a way that the stain was hidden. By rearranging theother rugs and by bringing one from the alcove she restoredthe room to order so no outward indication of the tragedy sorecently enacted there was apparent.

These things attended to, and the hangings draped oncemore about the couch that they might hide the gruesome thingbeneath, the girl once more threw her arms about the English-man's neck and dragged him toward the soft and luxuriouspillows above the dead man. Acutely conscious of the horrorof his position, filled with loathing, disgust, and an outragedsense of decency, Smith-Oldwick was also acutely alive to thedemands of self-preservation. He felt that he was warrantedin buying his life at almost any price; but there was a point atwhich his finer nature rebelled.

It was at this juncture that a loud knock sounded upon thedoor of the outer room. Springing from the couch, the girlseized the man by the arm and dragged him after her to thewall close by the head of the couch. Here she drew back oneof the hangings, revealing a little niche behind, into which sheshoved the Englishman and dropped the hangings before him,effectually hiding him from observation from the rooms be-yond.

He heard her cross the alcove to the door of the outer room,and heard the bolt withdrawn followed by the voice of a manmingled with that of the girl. The tones of both seemedrational so that he might have been listening to an ordinaryconversation in some foreign tongue. Yet with the gruesomeexperiences of the day behind him, he could not but momen-tarily expect some insane outbreak from beyond the hangings.

He was aware from the sounds that the two had enteredthe alcove, and, prompted by a desire to know what mannerof man he might next have to contend with, he slightly partedthe heavy folds that hid the two from his view and looking outsaw them sitting on the couch with their arms about eachother, the girl with the same expressionless smile upon herface that she had vouchsafed him. He found he could soarrange the hangings that a very narrow slit between two ofthem permitted him to watch the actions of those in the alcovewithout revealing himself or increasing his liability of detec-tion.

He saw the girl lavishing her kisses upon the newcomer, amuch younger man than he whom Smith-Oldwick had dis-patched. Presently the girl disengaged herself from the em-brace of her lover as though struck by a sudden memory.Her brows puckered as in labored thought and then with astartled expression, she threw a glance backward toward thehidden niche where the Englishman stood, after which shewhispered rapidly to her companion, occasionally jerking herhead in the direction of the niche and on several occasionsmaking a move with one hand and forefinger, which Smith-Oldwick could not mistake as other than an attempt to de-scribe his pistol and its use.

It was evident then to him that she was betraying him, andwithout further loss of time he turned his back toward thehangings and commenced a rapid examination of his hidingplace. In the alcove the man and the girl whispered, andthen cautiously and with great stealth, the man rose and drewhis curved saber. On tiptoe he approached the hangings, thegirl creeping at his side. Neither spoke now, nor was thereany sound in the room as the girl sprang forward and withoutstretched arm and pointing finger indicated a point uponthe curtain at the height of a man's breast. Then she steppedto one side, and her companion, raising his blade to a hori-zontal position, lunged suddenly forward and with the fullweight of his body and his right arm, drove the sharp pointthrough the hangings and into the niche behind for its fulllength.

Bertha Kircher, finding her struggles futile and realizingthat she must conserve her strength for some chance oppor-tunity of escape, desisted from her efforts to break from thegrasp of Prince Metak as the fellow fled with her through thedimly lighted corridors of the palace. Through many cham-bers the prince fled, bearing his prize. It was evident to thegirl that, though her captor was the king's son, he was notabove capture and punishment for his deeds, as otherwise hewould not have shown such evident anxiety to escape withher, as well as from the results of his act.

From the fact that he was constantly turning affrightedeyes behind them, and glancing suspiciously into every nookand corner that they passed, she guessed that the prince'spunishment might be both speedy and terrible were he caught.

She knew from their route that they must have doubledback several times although she had quite lost all sense ofdirection; but she did not know that the prince was as equallyconfused as she, and that really he was running in an aimless,erratic manner, hoping that he might stumble eventually upona place of refuge.

Nor is it to be wondered at that this offspring of maniacsshould have difficulty in orienting himself in the windingmazes of a palace designed by maniacs for a maniac king.Now a corridor turned gradually and almost imperceptiblyin a new direction, again one doubled back upon and crosseditself; here the floor rose gradually to the level of anotherstory,or again there might be a spiral stairway down which the madprince rushed dizzily with his burden. Upon what floor theywere or in what part of the palace even Metak had no ideauntil, halting abruptly at a closed door, he pushed it open tostep into a brilliantly lighted chamber filled with warriors, atone end of which sat the king upon a great throne; beside this,to the girl's surprise, she saw another throne where was seateda huge lioness, recalling to her the words of Xanila which, atthe time, had made no impression on her: "But he had manyother queens, nor were they all human."

At sight of Metak and the girl, the king rose from his throneand started across the chamber, all semblance of royaltyvanishing in the maniac's uncontrollable passion. And as hecame he shrieked orders and commands at the top of his voice.No sooner had Metak so unwarily opened the door to thishornets' nest than he immediately withdrew and, turning, fledagain in a new direction. But now a hundred men were closeupon his heels, laughing, shrieking, and possibly cursing. Hedodged hither and thither, distancing them for several minutesuntil, at the bottom of a long runway that inclined steeplydownward from a higher level, he burst into a subterraneanapartment lighted by many flares.

In the center of the room was a pool of considerable size,the level of the water being but a few inches below the floor.Those behind the fleeing prince and his captive entered thechamber in time to see Metak leap into the water with thegirl and disappear beneath the surface taking his captive withhim, nor, though they waited excitedly around the rim of thepool, did either of the two again emerge.

When Smith-Oldwick turned to investigate his hiding place,his hands, groping upon the rear wall, immediately came incontact with the wooden panels of a door and a bolt such asthat which secured the door of the outer room. Cautiouslyand silently drawing the wooden bar he pushed gently againstthe panel to find that the door swung easily and noiselesslyoutward into utter darkness. Moving carefully and feelingforward for each step he passed out of the niche, closing thedoor behind him.

Peeling about, he discovered that he was in a narrow cor-ridor which he followed cautiously for a few yards to bebrought up suddenly by what appeared to be a ladder acrossthe passageway. He felt of the obstruction carefully with hishands until he was assured that it was indeed a ladder andthat a solid wall was just beyond it, ending the corridor.Therefore, as he could not go forward and as the ladderended at the floor upon which he stood, and as he did not careto retrace his steps, there was no alternative but to climb up-ward, and this he did, his pistol ready in a side pocket of hisblouse.

He had ascended but two or three rungs when his headcame suddenly and painfully in contact with a hard surfaceabove him. Groping about with one hand over his head hediscovered that the obstacle seemed to be the covering to atrap door in the ceiling which, with a little effort, hesucceededin raising a couple of inches, revealing through the cracksthe stars of a clear African night.

With a sigh of relief, but with unabated caution, he gentlyslid the trapdoor to one side far enough to permit him to raisehis eyes above the level of the roof. A quick glance assuredhim that there was none near enough to observe his move-ments, nor, in fact, as far as he could see, was anyone insight.

Drawing himself quickly through the aperture he replacedthe cover and endeavored to regain his bearings. Directlyto the south of him the low roof he stood upon adjoined amuch loftier portion of the building, which rose several storiesabove his head. A few yards to the west he could see theflickering light of the flares of a winding street, and towardthis he made his way.

From the edge of the roof he looked down upon the nightlife of the mad city. He saw men and women and childrenand lions, and of all that he saw it was quite evident to himthat only the lions were sane. With the aid of the stars heeasily picked out the points of the compass, and followingcarefully in his memory the steps that had led him into thecity and to the roof upon which he now stood, he knew thatthe thoroughfare upon which he looked was the same alongwhich he and Bertha Kircher had been led as prisoners earlierin the day.

If he could reach this he might be able to pass undetectedin the shadows of the arcade to the city gate. He had alreadygiven up as futile the thought of seeking out the girl andattempting to succor her, for he knew that alone and with thefew remaining rounds of ammunition he possessed, he coulddo nothing against this city-full of armed men. That hecould live to cross the lion-infested forest beyond the city wasdoubtful, and having, by some miracle, won to the desertbeyond, his fate would be certainly sealed; but yet he wasconsumed with but one desire -- to leave behind him as faras possible this horrid city of maniacs.

He saw that the roofs rose to the same level as that uponwhich he stood unbroken to the north to the next street inter-section. Directly below him was a flare. To reach the pave-ment in safety it was necessary that he find as dark a portionof the avenue as possible. And so he sought along the edgeof the roofs for a place where he might descend in comparativeconcealment.

He had proceeded some little way beyond a point wherethe street curved abruptly to the east before he discovered alocation sufficiently to his liking. But even here he was com-pelled to wait a considerable time for a satisfactory momentfor his descent, which he had decided to make down one ofthe pillars of the arcade. Each time he prepared to lowerhimself over the edge of the roofs, footsteps approaching inone direction or another deterred him until at last he hadalmost come to the conclusion that he would have to wait forthe entire city to sleep before continuing his flight.

But finally came a moment which he felt propitious andthough with inward qualms, it was with outward calm that hecommenced the descent to the street below.

When at last he stood beneath the arcade he was con-gratulating himself upon the success that had attended hisefforts up to this point when, at a slight sound behind him,he turned to see a tall figure in the yellow tunic of a warriorconfronting him.