With ri;islili'>lU and Rifle 



soiiK'lhiiiL;' tor our clinncr. I'^llis, who wciil ahead, tiacd on 

 sonic loii!^' shots at hartchccsts, hut iWd not l)rinL;' an\' 

 of them (h>\\'ii. Mcanwhih' I hccamc conscious ot the 

 symptoms ol an attack ot dyscntcr\'. whicli I ma\- men- 

 tion pai'cnthcticalK' I i^ol rid ot in a lew (li\ s h\ (hiu 

 of drastic treatment. 



Whc-n I liad been tollowin^- Idlis hir ahout halt an liour, 

 I saw to my rii^ht. at not too lon^' rau'^'c, a male I'homhon's 

 o:azcllc which I r<'Sol\'ed to ect. Mc-tioninii' to m\' men 

 to rt;main wliere they wxn'c;, I adxanced cautiousl\' as hest 

 I could. Soon I had L^'ot to a distance ot 300 yards 

 from my three .Xskaris, and out ol si^hl ol them 1)\' 

 reason oi st:\'eral s]!L;iu swellings ol the ground in hetwcen. 

 Just as I was on the point ot lirin^' at the i^'azelle, Irom 

 a distance; of ahout se\ cntv -fi\c paces, m\- e\'e was caught 

 l)y somethiuL;' yellow a hundred |)aces beyond it which 

 1 at once; saw to l)e a lion's h,ead. At the same moment 

 1 heard a well-known sound to m\- ri^ht, and turning- 

 round (|uickl\' saw a lare(; dark-maned, ^rowlin^' lion, 

 standing- still in the; oi'ass a hundi'ed to a lumdred and 

 twent\- paces awav. d'o all appearance, he liad espied 

 (jr scented the slalkiiiL;' hunter, and it was luck\- he had 

 not come nearer, as he mi^ht so easil)' ha\(; done, lor 

 all m\ atlention had been centred on the gazelle. 



1 stood like a man bciunnhed ! 'I'wo lions l)etore me! 

 U was a larec order in the then slate of m\ nerves 

 alter m\ lone- illness. It was b\- no means an ,iL;re(;able 

 situation toi' me, conscious as 1 was ot my compai-ativc 

 helplessness. I could reckon on onl\' one sliot. l'(.)r 

 sul)se(|uent shots I should have to reload, and in spite 



;62 



