SPEAR AND SHIELD 175 



front of a thick bunch of grass where a lion was crouch- 

 ing and switcliing his tail. I got the camera into posi- 

 tion and waited for the charge, for three Nandi were 

 converging on him, and I knew it would not be long 

 before he made a dash for one of them. 



One slim Nandi youth walked slowly toward the 

 crouching beast until within twenty-five paces, where- 

 upon the hon gave a mighty roar and, springing as 

 from a catapult, charged straight for him. He stood 

 rigid as a rock in the face of the Hon's rush until the 

 space had narrowed to a few feet, then he knelt behind 

 the shield and, raising the spear, hurled it into the Hon 

 just before it leaped upon him. The tremendous impact 

 of the charge threw the warrior to the ground, but he 

 fell beneath the shield at which the Hon claw ed and bit. 



Within a few seconds the other two Nandi were 

 driving their spears into the maddened animal. Others, 

 rushing up, did the same thing, and shortly the hon re- 

 sembled an overburdened pin cushion. He was dead 

 and there was no mistake about it! The youth who 

 received the charge came out of the encounter with 

 only a shght scratch, a bent spear, and a hole through 

 his shield where the hon had bit through as it bowled 

 him over. He was at once named "Ngetuny Siiya," 

 meaning "hon's claw." They should have named him 

 *'Lion Heart," for it takes a brave man to stand fast 

 while one of these enraged beasts, all his energy bent 

 on kiUing, rushes savagely forward. The other war- 

 riors looked upon this display of courage as a thing 

 previously assured, for, after all, the young spearman 

 had only proven himself true to the Nandi breed. 



Next day while the Nandi rested, repaired broken 

 spear shafts, took the many kinks out of the blades, and 



