MY SOMALI BOOK 87 



gesticulating into the grass. His manner left no 

 doubt as to what he meant, so Abdilleh and I hurried 

 quickly round to the far side. There he was making 

 for a likely thorn-bush to stand behind when I stopped 

 him, for just at the near edge of the cover where the 

 grass was thin, stood a lioness, tail towards me, just 

 the top of her back and neck clearly visible and only 

 twenty-five yards away ! 



It was a chance not to be lost, and I fired ; down 

 she went to the shot out of sight in the grass. Then I 

 had no more time to think of her for the moment, for 

 at the report came the sight of a lifetime : the five 

 remaining lions breaking from the cover, from different 

 spots, but all on the side nearest me, almost simul- 

 taneously, and all within twenty to thirty yards ; 

 then, checked by the unexpected sight of two humans 

 in their way, dashing hither and thither, one straight 

 away to my right, the others in and out of the grass 

 uncertain what to do ! You see, previous to the shot, 

 their attention had been fixed on the two shikaris on 

 the far side whom they had detected, and they were 

 quite taken by surprise on seeing me. I had not 

 started out that morning with any idea of seeing lions 

 so had not my second lion rifle, the '400, with me. 

 Abdilleh was beside me with the '318, powerful enough 

 to kill any lion, but not, in my view, the sort of weapon 

 for the close quarter game I had come in for now. 

 Consequently I was determined not to have both 

 barrels of the Paradox empty at once if it could be 

 avoided, before attempting another shot. Then I had 

 a snap-shot at about fifteen yards at a lioness bolting 

 back into the grass, and she too disappeared. By the 



