ing sticks and the rattle of stones added to the medley 

 of sound as the baboons raced out of the wood and up 

 the bare rocky slope. 



" What is it ? " " What's the matter ? " " There's 

 something after them." " Look, look ! there they 

 come " : burst from one and another of us as we 

 watched the extraordinary scene. The cries from 

 below seemed to waken the whole mountain ; great 

 booming " waughs " came from different places far 

 apart and ever so high up the face of the Berg ; each 

 big roar seemed to act like a trumpet-call and bring 

 forth a multitude of others ; and the air rang with 

 bewildering shouts and echoes volleying round the 

 kloofs and faces of the Berg. The strange thing was 

 that the baboons did not continue their terrified 

 scramble up the mountain, but, once out of the bush, 

 they turned and rallied. Forming an irregular semi- 

 circle they faced down hill, thrusting their heads 

 forward with sudden jerks as though to launch their 

 cries with greater vehemence, and feinting to charge ; 

 they showered loose earth, stones and debris of all sorts 

 down with awkward underhand scrapes of their fore- 

 paws, and gradually but surely descended to within 

 a dozen yards of the bush's edge. 



" Baas, Baas, the tiger ! Look, the tiger ! There, 

 there on the rock below ! " 



Jim shot the words out in vehement gusts, choky 

 with excitement ; and true enough, there the tiger 

 was. The long spotted body was crouched on a flat 

 rock just below the baboons; he was broad-side to . ,, 

 us, with his fore-quarters slightlyraised and his face " l! 

 271 



