XXI A HUNGRY LION 467 



before me. He had found no buffaloes, but had 

 shot two black rhinoceroses, besides some smaller 

 game. Old Lo Magondi was still here with half his 

 tribe, women and children, all of whom were trying 

 to get outside of as much sea-cow meat as possible. 

 Poles had been cut and raised upon uprights in 

 every direction, all of which were red or white, with 

 festoons of meat and fat. Some of the meat smelt 

 very high, for Lo Magondi's people had let one sea- 

 cow go bad before they cut it up ; I do really think 

 that they like half-putrid meat better than fresh. 

 The trees that surrounded the pool were covered 

 one and all with the griffon and little black vultures, 

 and here and there sat a couple of the carrion-eating 

 marabout storks, eyeing the bones and ribs of the 

 five sea-cows, now well picked, which strewed the 

 rocks at the lower end of the pool. As soon as 

 darkness set in, hyaenas began to approach from 

 every direction, and laughed and screamed and 

 howled over the remains of the feast in a manner 

 that must be heard to be appreciated. 



In the middle of the night, when the fires were 

 burning low, old Lo Magondi, who always slept at our 

 skerm amongst our Kafirs, suddenly jumped up and 

 called to our boys to make up the fires, as there was 

 a lion close to us. Though I was awake I had heard 

 nothing ; but soon after the boys had rekindled the 

 fires, a low, deep growl, of disappointment, I suppose, 

 broke the silence of the night — such a growl as can 

 only issue from the throat of a lion ; the deep sullen 

 sound was twice repeated, seemingly within fifty 

 yards of where we lay, and then all again was still, 

 nor were we further disturbed that ni"ht. The 



O 



brute must have been sneaking about trying to steal 

 some meat, for the old man said he had heard him 



