176 THE LION. 



ing the tank were in a state of nature, consisting 

 of bushes and timber trees. 



" On reaching the ground, the natives were stationed 

 as 'markers ' in the trees thereabouts. But it was 

 not until the party had ' beaten ' . the ' patch ' with 

 the elephants for a considerable time that the lion 

 was discovered to be on foot, and some further time 

 elapsed before he was viewed as he was stealing 

 away from the brake, along a sort of hedge-row, 

 for the more open country beyond. Major Delamaine, 

 who was some forty or fifty paces from the beast, 

 then fired, and severely wounded him in the body. 



" On receiving the ball, the lion immediately faced 

 about, and ' charged ' the Major's elephant, but 

 the nerves of the latter having been recently shaken 

 by wounds inflicted by a royal tiger, turned tail, 

 and regularly bolted. In the scurry through the 

 jungle, one of the Major's guns, having been 

 caught by a tree, fell from the howdah, and was 

 broken, a loss, as the sequel proved, that might 

 Lave been attended with very disastrous conse- 

 quences. 



" But the lion soon gave up the chase, and retraced 

 his steps to the * patch ' from whence he had 

 been started. Here he was followed by Captain 

 Harris alone, the Major's elephant, from its late 

 fright, having become too unsteady to be taken into 

 thick cover. 



" The Captain soon found and fired at the beast, 

 which in its turn instantly sprang at, and made a 

 fair lodgment on the head of the Captain's elephant, 

 but the latter being a large and powerful animal, 



