However, he crept nearer, hardly stirring a blade of grass, so cautious was his progress--so silent his movements. He listened intently, scarcely breathing, lest its sound should betray his presence. His hands gently touched a vine to part the leaves--instantly he was greeted with a hiss and a rattle, and then something glittered close to his eyes, which in the moment of his startled alarm he believed to be the glitter of a reptile's fangs. It caused him to bolt suddenly with a panicky feeling at his heart, and then it brought from Jack a soft chuckle of merriment. "He's not as plucky as the girl. We must throw him off the scent at any cost," whispered Rutley, "or we will be trapped." Suddenly he laid his hand on Jack's arm and continued with a low, sardonic laugh: "I have it, Jack. You lead him down on the Barnes road; I'll meet him there," and without any further delay Rutley slipped down the steep slope to his automobile, which lay in the deep shadow of the canyon walls, a little further to the west, where he waited with the evil purpose in his heart for the climax. Sam was no coward. He had faced dangerous situations fearlessly, but that hiss and rattle, in the stillness of a dark, lonely and forbidding place, fairly raised his hair, and lent a lightness to his feet that amazed him, when he halted and noted the distance covered in the few moments of his flight. "One of those deadly reptiles got out of the park zoo," he thought, "sneaked his way into that jungle--I guess so!" and he wiped the beads of perspiration from his face as he added aloud: "An almighty close call! But," and he looked up at the dark sky, and then around and about, and as gathering confidence returned to him, continued: "I shall not give up yet, not yet. I guess not." Yet it was apparent his pursuit of the stranger had signally failed, and he stood motionless wondering what course then best for him to adopt. True, he was in a dilemma, and instinctively realized that to remain in the park was useless. So, without forming any practical conclusion, and for the purpose of keeping active, he again moved toward the fence. It was then he conceived the notion to climb over the fence and make a short descent to the gate, in order to catch sight of Virginia, for she could not be far away yet, and to follow her and secretly to protect her on her return to her home. With that object in mind, he climbed the fence, and, securing a position on its top, looked cautiously about. He was some distance to the west of the tangle of vines, from which he was screened by the foliage of a small tree that grew nearby. [Illustration: Sam--"One of those deadly reptiles got out of the Park Zoo."]