260 LARGE GAME. chap. v. 



rugged portion falling to my share, carefully examining 

 every inch of the ground to see whether by any chance he 

 had again left it ; however, no vestige of his spoor could 

 be seen, and by the time we got back to our starting- 

 point, the whole of Tekwane's people were in sight. 



The chief himself was with them, though he had no 

 intention of taking any active part in the proceedings, 

 and when we started retii'ed with some of his old men to 

 a place of safety, and a council of how to proceed was 

 formed on the spot. My idea had been that the guns 

 should guard the more likely passes, while the people, 

 numbering near five hundred, should beat out the jungle. 

 To this, however, the objection was offered that from the 

 well-known thickness of the place, and the universal 

 terror of the lion, the men would not attempt to beat 

 it unless they were led by myself and my hunters. 

 Such being the case, it was decided that spies should be 

 placed in the tree-tops and other commanding positions, 

 while the great body of the people were to enter at the 

 top and drive it do^ai, but knowing, as I did, how very 

 dangerous the affair w^ould become if the lion was wounded 

 in such cover, in many parts of which one could not have 

 seen it a yard off, I especially ordered my men not to fire 

 unless they felt sure of killing or disabling the brute on 

 the spot, and advised that every one, advancing in as 

 unbroken a line as possible, and going slowly and making 

 all the noise possible, should try and make it slink off 

 before them, and enable us in the end to get a fair chance 

 at it in the open. 



Half an hour was spent in waiting for the spies to 

 take up their positions, and then, the whole body, chant- 



