262 IN THE GRIP OF THE NYIKA chap. 



him go into these bushes, but felt pretty sure that 

 he had hidden himself there. He gave absolutely 

 no sign of his presence, however, and I began to 

 think that he must have gone away along some fold 

 n the ground where I could not see him. I soon 

 found that this was not so, for just then some zebra 

 came along, and as they passed close by, the lion 

 made a mighty spring out of the bushes, pounced 

 on one, dashed it to the earth, and apparently 

 instantly killed it, as it hardly moved again. He 

 lost no time in dragging it to the bank on the other 

 side of the river bed and over some rocks out of my 

 sight. Here he was joined by several other lions, 

 and the noise they made over their feast was 

 appalling. They all disappeared before daylight, 

 and there was very little left of the zebra when I 

 went out to investigate. 



As the night wore on rhino after rhino came 

 walking towards the water with the gravest un- 

 concern, every species in the neighbourhood making 

 way for him except his own kind. Finally, towards 

 dawn, the whole place abounded with hyaenas. I 

 counted eight all present at one time, and one of 

 these, more inquisitive than the rest, came sniffing 

 round my bouia to see what was there, and so paid 

 for his curiosity with his life. He proved to be of 

 a rather rare kind, the striped hyaena. 



A night such as this spent among the animals 



