86 THE LION. 



friend pulled the trigger, upon which the beast gave 

 a tremendous bound, actually clearing a portion of 

 the water by which he was lying, followed by a terrific 

 growling and snarling. Bonfield called out, " The 

 lion is struck !" but Green hardly thought so, as 

 his aim could not have been very accurate. 



Shortly afterwards they returned to camp ; but, 

 scarce^ had they reached it before the dogs began 

 to bark most furiously ; and next morning, as seen 

 by the tracks, it was found to have been a lion 

 which they had challenged. The brute, it seemed, 

 had actually followed their * spoor ' from the screen. 



Green at first thought it must have been their 

 late enemy ; but, on returning to the " vley," they 

 found distinct traces of a second lion. It, more- 

 over, turned out that Bonfield was right when he 

 asserted that the one at which Green had fired was 

 struck ; for they not only found blood on the ground, 

 but pieces of the beast's fhngs and jawbone. An inch or 

 two higher or lower would probably have killed him. 



Again, the lioness, when accompanied by her 

 progeny, and when danger threatens, is said not 

 unfrequently to resort to very cunning expedients 

 to insure their safety, of which Gerard relates a 

 somewhat remarkable instance. 



" During the month of November, 181G," he 

 says, " it was reported to me that a lion had killed 

 a horse at the bottom of a deep ravine; but, on 

 examining the tracks of the animal, I came to the 

 conclusion that it must have been a lioness. I 

 watched at the foot of a mastic tree. 



" The first night nothing ; the second night 



