LOST. 99 



some of this noble game, I deferred my campaign 

 against them till the morrow. The illustration will 

 perhaps convey to the reader some of the enthusiasm 

 I felt. 



If there is one thing more than another that 

 annoys me, it is being kept waiting for my dinner ; yet 

 it always appears to me to be so abominably selfish 

 to sit down and feed alone, that I kept postponing 

 my meal till patience ceased to be a virtue. That 

 evening, if simply for the purpose of passing the 

 time, I had paid more than usual attention to the 

 cooking, and, so I flattered myself, not without 

 producing good results. Therefore not having my 

 friend's company was the more to be regretted. 



As the sun had been down considerably more 

 than an hour, and there was no appearance of the 

 absent one, I naturally began to feel uneasy, and 

 conjured up in my mind the possibility of all kinds 

 of accidents having occurred to him. 



For some years lions had disappeared from this 

 vicinity, thus I had nothing to dread from the 

 possibility of the king of beasts having attacked 

 my chum. Again, he was so skilled in the use of 

 firearms that there was scarcely a chance of his 



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