270 LARGE GAME. chap. v. 



lioness that attacked every camp in the district and had 

 already carried off two men, on finding my water-calabash 

 empty and ordering it to be filled, I was surprised at the 

 dead silence, instead of the usual " Yebo, Nkosi " of ready 

 obedience. Turning to my head servant I said, " What 's 

 the matter ? have the boys struck work, or what ? " 

 "They're afraid of the lion," I was assured. So, taking 

 up my gun, I told them to come with me, and was aston- 

 ished to find over thirty boys from different parts of the 

 camp turning out with their masters' calabashes to take 

 advantage of my escort. 



The path to the Nkwavuma, about a hundred and 

 fifty yards distant, passes through two dense bushes just 

 on the top of the reeds, and we had reached here in safety, 

 when I suddenly heard a rustle a yard or two off. Stop- 

 ping, with my gun at the charge, I could quite distinctly 

 hear the heavy soft footfall, evidently approaching ; and 

 so could the boys, for one and all took to their heels and 

 left me face to face, and divided only by the darkness, from 

 the treacherous man-eating brute. It was by no means a 

 nice predicament, and I stepped backwards foot by foot, 

 momentarily expecting to be attacked. However, the 

 cowardly brute, noticing no doubt with its cat-hke power 

 of seeing in the dark, that I was always facing it, feared 

 to spring on me, and I reached camp in safety. 



But it was not to be borne that we were to go to bed 

 thirsty, so I turned out all the hunters, reassembled the 

 boys with torches, and marched back again, firing a couple 

 of volleys into the two bushes before we reached them, 

 and however near the brute may have been crouching it 

 was overawed, and did not betray itself by any move- 



