MY FIRST LION 53 



the centre of a level, grassy tract, and as I came 

 up my gun bearer pointed to the tree and 

 whispered: "Hapa simba bebee, Bwana. The 

 lioness is there, master." At that moment one 

 of the porters, who was walking round the tree, 

 gave a sudden start and backed away. I knew 

 that he must have spied the lioness, although the 

 branches were so thick and extended so close to 

 the ground that at a distance the eye could not 

 penetrate them. 



The Masai herdboy's curiosity now got the 

 better of him, and he ventured within ten feet 

 of the tree and peeped in. Then he ran back 

 to me and, in a dramatic and realistic manner, 

 imitated the grimaces that the beast had made 

 at him. 



I took a position that later proved to be 

 sixty-three paces from the tree. 



Then, placing my second rifle on the ground by 

 my side, I knelt on one knee and ordered my 

 gun bearer to shoot a charge of buckshot into 

 the thicket in hope of driving the lioness into 

 the open. As she did not appear, he fired a 

 second shot, but still she remained hidden. 

 Then I shot two bullets from my rifle into the 

 tree without any result. 



