She saw the man and the lion stop simultaneously, not more than
a yard apart. She saw the beast's tail whipping from side to side
and she could hear his deep-throated growls rumbling from his
cavernous breast, but she could read correctly neither the movement
of the lashing tail nor the notes of the growl.
To her they seemed to indicate nothing but bestial rage while to
Tarzan of the Apes they were conciliatory and reassuring in the
extreme. And then she saw Numa move forward again until his nose
touched the man's naked leg and she closed her eyes and covered
them with her palms. For what seemed an eternity she waited for
the horrid sound of the conflict which she knew must come, but all
she heard was an explosive sigh of relief from Smith-Oldwick and
a half-hysterical "By Jove! Just fancy it!"
She looked up to see the great lion rubbing his shaggy head against
the man's hip, and Tarzan's free hand entangled in the black mane
as he scratched Numa, the lion, behind a back-laid ear.
Strange friendships are often formed between the lower animals
of different species, but less often between man and the savage
felidae, because of the former's inherent fear of the great cats.
And so after all, therefore, the friendship so suddenly developed
between the savage lion and the savage man was not inexplicable.
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