CHAP. V. LIONS. ' 275 



them, and on my way back throiigli some thickets near 

 the river I stumbled on the lion again, and catching a 

 ghmpse of his body as he sprung away, I fired, missing, 

 and went back to my men. Soon afterwards, hearing a 

 shot or two across the river, I again took my gun and 

 went down to the reeds, thinkmg that it might be buffalo, 

 and that some of them might be driven in there for 

 shelter. Just as I reached the top of the bank I saw the 

 reeds shaking within a few yards of me, and my head 

 being full of buffalo I at once descended, and was in the 

 act of entering when I heard the low moan I have spoken 

 of For a second I thought it was uttered by some large 

 animal in pain, but as it caught my ear a second time I 

 recognised it, and knew what it meant. The brute might 

 easily have sprung on me in our present relative positions 

 without even giving me a chance to defend myself, and I 

 was glad enough to regain the top of the bank. 



I was an eye-witness to another instance, ending 

 fatally, of the folly of pushing a lion to extremity. I was 

 out with four hunters, and we were returning from fol- 

 lowing the spoor of a herd of elephants on which we had 

 slept two nights, but without being able to catch up to 

 the fast-travelling animals, and were all shghtly scattered, 

 looking for something to shoot for food, when up jumped 

 four three-parts-grown lions in front of the man furthest 

 to the left. He and I fired at them as they galloped away 

 in different directions, both missing, and I thought nothing 

 more of it until I saw one of the other hunters running 

 across me, and on shouting to him heard that " April " 

 had followed them as soon as he had loaded. 



