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To Helen the lion looked splendid perched up there He was long and round and graceful and tawny His tongue hung out and his plu what a quick, hard run he had been driven to What struck Helenin his face as he looked down at the hound He was scared He realized his peril It was not possible for Helen to watch hi Bo not to shoot Helen confessed she was a tenderfoot

"Get down, Bo, an' let's see how good a shot you are, said Dale Bo sloithdrew her fascinated gaze from the lion and looked with a rueful sed my mind I said I would kill him, but now I can't He looks so--so different froined"

Dale's ansas a rare s and approval that warmed Helen's heart toward hiun, he mounted his horse

"Come on, Pedro," he called "Coirls, we treed him, anyhow, an' it was fun Noe'll ride back to the deer he killed an' pack a haunch to cao back to his--his kill, I think you called it?" asked Bo

"I've chased one away from his kill half a dozen tiet overfed I reckon the balance is pretty even"

This last remark made Helen inquisitive And as they slowly rode on the back-trail Dale talked

"You girls, bein' tender-hearted an' not knowin' the life of the forest, what's good an' what's bad, think it was a pity the poor deer was killed by aAs I told you, the lion is absolutely necessary to the health an' joy of wild life--or deer's wild life, so to speak When deer were created or came into existence, then the lion must have come, too They can't live without each other Wolves, now, are not particularly deer-killers They live off elk an' anythin' they can catch So will lions, for that matter But I mean lions follow the deer to an' fro frorounds Where there's no deer you will find no lions Well, now, if left alone deer would multiply very fast In a few years there would be hundreds where now there's only one An' in tienerations passed, they'd lose the fear, the alertness, the speed an' strength, the eternal vigilance that is love of life--they'd lose that an' begin to deteriorate, an' disease would carry the deer It killed them off, an' I believe that is one of the diseases of over-production The lions, now, are forever on the trail of the deer They have learned Wariness is an instinct born in the fawn It rows up strong an' healthy to become the smooth, sleek, beautiful, soft-eyed, an' wild-lookin' deer you girls love to watch But if it wasn't for the lions, the deer would not thrive Only the strongest an' swiftest survive That is the meanin' of nature There is always a perfect balance kept by nature Ityears, it averages an even balance"