THE LION— KING OF BEASTS 



adventures, I shouted: "If I saw a lion here, I think I 

 would jump out of the train to get it." Imagine my sur- 

 prise when the German lieutenant, pointing with his hand 

 to the left of the track, answered: "There is one right 

 here." Looking in that direction, I actually saw a large 

 lion lying upon a zebra which he had killed, and whose 

 hind quarter it was devouring, only some three hundred 

 yards from the track! 



Quicker than I can describe, I picked up my 50 x i lo 

 Winchester, which I had near at hand, took a handful of 

 cartridges out of the bag, and rushed out of the train, 

 v/hich had almost been brought to a standstill. In big 

 bounds I made off for the lion, putting the cartridges into 

 the magazine as I ran. Two English sportsmen thought- 

 lessly opened fire on the lion right from their car, and I 

 could plainly hear the bullets whiz by as I was running, 

 but they, fortunately, hit neither the lion nor me. 



As one of their bullets hit the ground a few inches from 

 the lion's nose, throwing sand and dust upon it, the big 

 beast turned around as quick as a flash, and with a wild 

 roar was ready to fling itself upon me. I had then come 

 up within some twenty-five yards. Before the lion could 

 spring, I fired at it, the bullet smashing the right shoulder 

 and penetrating the heart, and with another roar it fell 

 over. 



As this was the first day I ever spent in the interior 

 of Africa and the first shot I fired on African soil, the 

 reader can imagine how happy I felt at having secured 

 such a beautiful trophy. Strange enough, I found out 

 three months later that the train had not stopped to ac- 

 commodate me in any way, but that something had gone 



49 



