290 IN THE GRIP OF THE NYIKA ch. xxii 



the tent in the moonhght with a rifle across my 

 knees. Suddenly the askatn on duty at the watch 

 fire close by called out, '' Bwana, simba /" (" Master, 

 a lion ! "). Looking in the direction in which he 

 pointed, I plainly saw the beast stalking up to us, 

 not fifty yards away. I raised my rifle and covered 

 him with it, but did not pull the trigger, as he 

 appeared to be coming closer and I thought by 

 waiting a second or two longer he would give me a 

 better opportunity of shooting him. Unfortunately, 

 however, at this moment he caught sight of me, 

 stepped behind a bush and made off like a streak 

 of light, so I did not get another chance to fire. 

 We kept a strict watch all round the camp for the 

 remainder of the night and luckily had no further 

 visits from him. 



