THE FIFTEEN LIONS. 209 



twenty yards or so apart. It was almost as 

 though they were being released singly. Finally 

 we had fifteen in sight. 



It was a most magnificent spectacle, and we 

 could enjoy it unhurried by the feeling that we 

 were losing opportunities. At that range it would 

 be silly to open fire. If we had descended to 

 the canon in order to follow them out the other 

 side, they would merely have trotted away. Our 

 only chance was to wait until they had disap- 

 peared from sight, and then to attempt a wide 

 circle in order to catch them from the flank. In 

 the meantime we had merely to sit still. 



Therefore we stared through our glasses, and 

 enjoyed to the full this most unusual sight. 

 There were four cubs about as big as setter dogs, 

 four full-grown but immature youngsters, four 

 lionesses, and three male lions. They kept their 

 spaced, single file formation for two-thirds the 

 ascent of the hill probably the nature of the 

 ground forced them to it and then gradually 

 drew together. Near the top, but still below the 

 summit, they entered a jumble of boulders and 

 stopped. We could make out several of them 

 lying down. One fine old yellow fellow stretched 

 himself comfortably atop a flat rock, in the 

 position of a bronze lion on a pedestal. 



