MY SOMALI BOOK 151 



stern shot from the second barrel with hardly a sign of 

 feeling it ; but another thirty yards and she was down, 

 dead as the proverbial mutton ; the second bullet (a 

 solid one) entering at the flank, had carried forward 

 through the liver and lungs into the throat. She was 

 in excellent condition, measured 8 feet 2J inches in 

 length, and contained four embryos an inch long. All 

 of my adult lionesses were of much the same size, 

 but these last two in the Aror bush were decidedly 

 tawny in colour and not the typical Somali grey tint 

 of the Dudwein specimens. All harboured a number 

 of peculiar flat parasitic flies. 



At the sound of my first shot the second lion had 

 broken away to one side, and we now followed him 

 up. The tracking became more and more difficult, 

 and as we did not think he was a big one we eventually 

 gave him up and were back in camp about 3 p.m., 

 rather done up : the wind had dropped, and it had been 

 very hot after midday. 



I should mention that just before the lioness broke 

 a small grey spotted animal rushed out past me, to 

 which under different circumstances I should like to 

 have paid more attention. I had, however, no difficulty 

 in recognising it as a genet. 



On arrival in camp we learned that the third alarm 

 which we heard on the previous night had been caused 

 by a single big lion that had taken a sheep from the 

 furthest zariba, but it was too late to think of taking 

 up his tracks then. 



The mail had just arrived and with it my Abys- 

 sinian permit. Imagine my exasperation at finding 

 that it had actually reached Aden a few days before 



