200 AFRICAN CAMP FIRES. 



syces, and prepared to make afoot a clean sweep 

 of the wide, shallow ravine. Here was where 

 the dogs came in handy. We left a rearguard 

 of two men, and slowly began our beat. 



The ravine could hardly be called a ravine ; 

 rather a shallow depression with banks not over 

 a foot high, and with a varying width of from 

 two to two hundred feet. The grass grew very 

 patchy, and not very high; in fact, it seemed 

 hardly tall enough to conceal anything as large 

 as a lioness. We men walked along the edge of 

 this depression, while the dogs ranged back and 

 forth in its bottom. 



We had gone thus a quarter-mile when one of 

 the rearguard came running up. 



14 Bwana," said he, " we have seen the lioness. 

 She is lying in a patch of grass. After you had 

 passed, we saw her raise her head." 



It seemed impossible that she should have 

 escaped both our eyes and the dogs' noses, but 

 we returned. The man pointed out a thin growth 

 of dried, yellow grass ten feet in diameter. Then 

 it seemed even more incredible. Apparently we 

 could look right through every foot of it. The 

 man persisted, so we advanced in battle array. 

 At thirty yards Captain D. saw the black tips of 

 her ears. We all looked hard, and at last made 



