The Journal of a Sporting Nomad 



ribs to a similar dressing, using a bandage to 

 keep the lint in place. The boy was, luckily, more 

 frightened than hurt, but he had had a very near 

 shave, and I congratulated my lucky stars too 

 that I had not been the one to be taken when 

 lighting up the grass. I thought now it was 

 about time to make for the canoe, for it would 

 have been quite impossible to get any sleep 

 after what had occurred on the bank, so we 

 literally " took up our beds and walked." The 

 canoe was very narrow and cramped, but there 

 was plenty of room to stretch one's legs, which 

 is something. I lay awake for two hours with 

 my rifle on the gunwale, hoping that the lions 

 might again come and investigate us, for this 

 time I might have had a good shot at one, 

 as they would have been silhouetted against the 

 sky, and a miss would have been almost an 

 impossibility owing to the shortness of the range, 

 which could not have been over twenty feet, if 

 so far. We were not molested further that night, 

 and I slept the sleep of the weary when I was 

 tired of watching for a shot. Weddell seemed to 

 think that we had been attacked by a lioness. 

 It may have been so I believe a lioness is more 

 daring than a lion but the night was so dark 

 that I could not tell what the sex was, I only 

 saw the outline of the beast and then let drive 

 at it. On thinking the matter over next morning 



I was at a loss to understand why my fingers 



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