AFTER THE BRAGGART LIONS. 257 



branched off (horses and cattle) to the right, traversed 

 about three miles of velt, and halted in the open plain. 

 The quantity of blood on the trail we could not under- 

 stand at the time, but when we overtook the runaways 

 the mystery was at once explained. The Macalaca, in 

 his anxiety to kill a lion, had either missed that animal 

 and lodged his bullet in an ox, or else in the dark 

 mistaken the ox for a lion. Whichever way it was, 

 there lay the handsome black and white bullock, with 

 every evidence that the hours of its life were numbered, 

 so the edict went forth for it to be slaughtered. 



Eeturning to the wagons an hour or two afterwards, 

 we found that in our absence the lions had come back, 

 and taken away the remaining portion of the horse. 

 This looked so much like an at of bravado that we 

 resolved to make another effort for the destruction of 

 some of their number; but among our people, none 

 could be got venturesome enough to undertake the 

 spooring. The promise of a cup of gunpowder ultimately 

 induced the Macalaca to volunteer ; and from the mas- 

 terly manner in which he commenced his work, it was 

 easy to see that he was an old hunter. 



Soon he led us across the thick jungle on to more 

 open ground ; this he traversed at a rapid pace till some 

 loose rocks forming the margin of a coppy were reached. 

 For a few minutes he appeared at fault, when, looking to 

 his left, with a grunt he pointed his finger, brought his 

 gun down, and cocked it. Looking in the direction 

 indicated, a lioness, with the hip-bone of the horse 

 between her fore legs, lay facing us. Her expression 

 denoted that she was anything but pleased by the in- 

 terruption. At the time she was seventy-five yards off 

 too far to make certain work ; so we resolved to lessen 

 R 



