"
At one point where a stream of water crossed the trail the party
halted while the lions and the men drank. They motioned to their
captors to drink too, and as Bertha Kircher and Smith-Oldwick,
lying prone upon the ground drank from the clear, cool water of the
rivulet, they were suddenly startled by the thunderous roar of a
lion a short distance ahead of them. Instantly the lions with them
set up a hideous response, moving restlessly to and fro with their
eyes always either turned in the direction from which the roar had
come or toward their masters, against whom the tawny beasts slunk.
The men loosened the sabers in their scabbards, the weapons that
had aroused Smith-Oldwick's curiosity as they had Tarzan's, and
grasped their spears more firmly.
Evidently there were lions and lions, and while they evinced no
fear of the beasts which accompanied them, it was quite evident
that the voice of the newcomer had an entirely different effect
upon them, although the men seemed less terrified than the lions.
Neither, however, showed any indication of an inclination to flee;
on the contrary the entire party advanced along the trail in the
direction of the menacing roars, and presently there appeared in
the center of the path a black lion of gigantic proportions. To
Smith-Oldwick and the girl he appeared to be the same lion that
they had encountered at the plane and from which Tarzan had rescued
them.
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