

LION HUNTING ON THE KAPITI PLAINS 75 



the lion, which paid him not the slightest attention. At 

 this moment my black sais, Simba, came running up to me 

 and took hold of the bridle; he had seen the chase from 

 the line of march and had cut across to join me. There 

 was no other sais or gun-bearer anywhere near, and his 

 action was plucky, for he was the only man afoot, with the 

 lion at bay. Lady Pease had also ridden up and was an 

 interested spectator only some fifty yards behind me. 



Now, an elderly man with a varied past which includes 

 rheumatism does not vault lightly into the saddle; as his 

 sons, for instance, can; and I had already made up my 

 mind that in the event of the lion's charging it would be 

 wise for me to trust to straight powder rather than to try to 

 scramble into the saddle and get under way in time. The 

 arrival of my two companions settled matters. I was not 

 sure of the speed of Lady Pease's horse; and Simba was on 

 foot and it was of course out of the question for me to leave 

 him. So I said, "Good, Simba, now we'll see this thing 

 through," and gentle-mannered Simba smiled a shy ap- 

 preciation of my tone, though he could not understand 

 the words. I was still unable to see the lion when I knelt, 

 but he was now standing up, looking first at one group of 

 horses and then at the other, his tail lashing to and fro, his 

 head held low, and his lips dropped over his mouth in 

 peculiar fashion, while his harsh and savage growling 

 rolled thunderously over the plain. Seeing Simba and me 

 on foot, he turned toward us, his tail lashing quicker and 

 quicker. Resting my elbow on Simba's bent shoulder, I 

 took steady aim and pressed the trigger; the bullet went 

 in between the neck and shoulder, and the lion fell over 

 on his side, one foreleg in the air. He recovered in a moment 



