72 AFRICAN GAME TRAILS 



yards wide and as many feet deep; and I shifted my posi- 

 tion, peering eagerly into the bushes for some moments 

 before I caught a glimpse of tawny hide; as it moved, there 

 was a call to me to "shoot," for at that distance, if the lion 

 charged, there would be scant time to stop it; and I fired 

 into what I saw. There was a commotion in the bushes, 

 and Kermit fired; and immediately afterward there broke 

 out on the other side, not the hoped-for big lion, but two 

 cubs the size of mastiffs. Each was badly wounded and we 

 finished them off; even if unwounded, they were too big 

 to take alive. 



This was a great disappointment, and as it was well 

 on in the afternoon, and we had beaten the country most apt 

 to harbor our game, it seemed unlikely that we would have 

 another chance. Percival was on foot and a long way 

 from his house, so he started for it; and the rest of us also 

 began to jog homeward. But Sir Alfred, although he said 

 nothing, intended to have another try. After going a mile 

 or two he started off to the left at a brisk canter; and we, 

 the other riders, followed, leaving behind our gun-bearers, 

 saises, and porters. A couple of miles away was another 

 donga, another shallow watercourse with occasional big 

 brush patches along the winding bed; and toward this we 

 cantered. Almost as soon as we reached it our leader found 

 the spoor of two big lions; and with every sense acock, we 

 dismounted and approached the first patch of tall bushes. 

 We shouted and threw in stones, but nothing came out; 

 and another small patch showed the same result. Then 

 we mounted our horses again, and rode toward another 

 patch a quarter of a mile off. I was mounted on Tran- 

 quillity, the stout and quiet sorrel. 



