THE SETTIT RIVER 125 



and there. I fired for the withers, and elicited a 

 succession of growls, the lion making off to the right. 

 This was opposite the camp, and the shikaris say 

 that they heard him growling in the bushes some 

 time after the shot. At daybreak I climbed to the 

 top of the tree, and carefully surveyed the neighbour- 

 hood before descending. There was no sign of the 

 lion, so I brought down my two rifles and ammunition, 

 having kept the 470 as an extra arm in case of acci- 

 dents, elephants, etc. The shikaris came up pluckily, 

 but rather foolishly, without waiting for my whistle, 

 just as I reached the ground, and we returned to 

 camp for chota hazri, after which we all took up 

 the trail. There was very little blood, but the 

 ground was mostly soft, and the grass having been 

 burnt, tracking was not difficult. However, the lion 

 had gone fully half a mile before there was any sign 

 of his having stopped, which did not look like a 

 serious wound, and we must have followed the trail 

 for fully three miles, Fadl ul Maula doing all the work, 

 before we got on terms. Then most unluckily some- 

 one hit against the bucket of stones in some thick 

 grass and thorns through which the lion appeared to 

 have been hunted by hyaenas, and while in front I 

 just caught a glimpse at 15 or 20 yards of a yellow 

 form bounding off, giving me no time to raise my 

 rifle, much less shoot. Another half-mile further 

 there was a growl some 50 yards in front, but nothing 



