2l6 ADVENTURES OF DR. ALLEN. 



She had no hostile intentions at that moment, but was 

 getting ready to leap into a tree, and from that point of 

 vantage to avoid open war if possible. I aimed to give her 

 a ball between the eyes, and, when the crack of my rifle broke 

 the silence, I heard a thud, and could see that she had 

 sprung toward the tree, but had not been able to reach the 

 coveted position. Through the smoke I gave her another 

 hasty shot which broke her back, but did not deter her from 

 making a desperate effort to reach me. 



I found a long stick and thrust it into her mouth, and 

 chewing it into fragments seemed to afford some relief to 

 her wrath. I then sought for the young lion but he had taken 

 warning and was not to be seen. Now that I had nothing to 

 fear from the female, I approached the den boldly. It 

 seemed to consist of two compartments. The one above be- 

 ing a watching-place or lookout, while the lower served for 

 a home or resting place, and was strewn with bones of all 

 kinds, which were sickening to behold. 



The old Major was delighted when I related to him my 

 adventure. He said he was so much afraid of the animals 

 he could scarcely get any sleep at night, that they sometimes 

 roared in a manner that made him tremble in his boots, and 

 he would be glad to know they were all killed. 



Toward evening I set out once more and this time pre- 

 vailed upon the Major to accompany me. We made our way 

 very carefully toward the fir tree near which the three lions 

 lay dead. When the Major saw them his eyes were dis- 

 tended until they resembled full moons, and he showed a 

 disposition to take to his heels. We had not been there long 

 before the young lion appeared and the old man yelled out 

 at the top of his voice. The aroused lion started to run, but 

 a ball from my rifle caught him in the hip, causing a deep 

 roar of pain. 



