194 STALKS ABROAD 



ing his trip, the only thing wanting to complete his 

 bag being a lion. 



" Yes, sir," said he, " I have lionitis badly ! I've 

 hunted them on foot and I've hunted them on mules. 

 I've sat up night after night in a zareba listening 

 to a kid bleating, trying not to clear my throat 

 and having the whole affair spoilt because the gun- 

 bearer snored, or had nasal catarrh. The lion got 

 the kid, but I never got the lion. On the subject 

 of lions I am a sceptic ! " 



" There are a few round here," I remarked. 



" So I saw," replied the Colonel, " but you can't 

 get them in this bush. A lion in the open I don't 

 mind ; but in the bush no, sir ! Not if his teeth 

 were stuffed with diamonds." 



I changed the subject. " Did you get any hippo 

 on the Tana ? " I inquired. 



The Colonel snorted. " Hippo !" said he. "Hippo! 

 Just in front of us were some qualified big game 

 hunters. They weren't English or American, I'm 

 glad to say, for the honour of our respective nations. 

 Well, one morning, I heard such a cannonading down 

 at that hippo pool, I thought the Masai must be 

 on the war-path. How many shots do you think 

 were fired ? " he asked suddenly. 



I ventured a modest twenty. 



The Colonel laughed derisively. " Twenty ? " said 

 he. " No, sir-r ! Ninety-six shots from '450 calibre 

 rifles were fired at those un-fortunate am-phibians and 

 they killed four." He relapsed into gloomy silence. 



