“Hah!” said Mujahid, “we have no chance now, I see, but to struggle at a disadvantage. The foe has taken us by surprise, and we must use the best means of defence which such an emergency has left us. He shall have a warning, however, that we are not to be intruded upon with impunity.” The prince placed an arrow on the string of his bow, and discharged it as the lion advanced. It struck him in the shoulder, the steel head fixing in the bone. The wounded beast gave a savage howl, tore the shaft from its body, and bounded forward with a roar that made the mountains ring. Meanwhile the party had rolled a huge fragment of rock, which lay within the cave, before the entrance, and thus excluded the ferocious visitor. Reaching the opening, the lion paused a moment, repeated its roar, and sprang against the stone. This vibrated with the animal’s weight. It repeated its spring, but the prince placing his back against the piece of rock, managed by his immense strength to prevent the lion from forcing an entrance. The savage creature put its paws upon the stone, and thrust its nose into the aperture left between the top of the fragment and that of the entrance. Sensible that enemies had invaded the sanctuary of its home, its howls were terrific, its eyes glared with portentous rage, and it repeatedly rushed against the opposing barrier, in order to force a passage to its offspring. All its attempts, however, were foiled. “Mahmood,” said the prince, as the enraged beast was standing with its paws upon the stone, licking its rapacious jaws, now covered with foam, “take thy bow, and discharge the arrow which remains into the lion’s eye. You are so close that you may make sure of your aim, and if well taken the steel will enter its brain, and give us a safe delivery.” Mahmood took the bow; his hand trembled with anxiety, not with fear. He was visible to the lion, which glared upon him with an expression of terrific fury. Its eye was open to the utmost extension. Mahmood placed the barb of his arrow within a few inches from the rolling orb, and hurriedly drew the string. At the instant it escaped from his finger the lion raised its head, and received the shaft through its tongue. Maddened by the pain, it bounded a moment from the opposing rock, and rolled upon its back, snapping the reed with its teeth, and returning with renewed fury to its former position. The foam now dropping from its mouth was dyed with blood. It protruded the lacerated tongue, from which the gore copiously dripped, part of the reed still sticking in the wound. CHAPTER IV.