chap. v. LIONS. 227 



and was not much surprised when the wet skin of 

 a lion was thrown down at my feet, and all the hunters 

 and camp boys, having turned out in obedience to 

 their officer's orders, formed a semicircle in front of 

 me, and commenced to dance and sing the great hunting- 

 song, only used on occasions such as these. I knew 

 what was expected of me, having seen many lions 

 killed; so, after allowing them to dance — i.e. to empha- 

 size the measure by stamping in unison with their 

 feet, and marking time by the motions of their arms 

 — for several minutes, I sent my boy for my gun, and, 

 holding the barrels perpendicularly for the sake of the 

 general safety, I fired them both off. This was at once 

 taken up by the hunters, who had all brought their-guns 

 out in readiness, and who fired one after another, in 

 capital time, until the last shot was spent. 



When I thought there had been enough of it, I asked 

 who had been the successful man, and a fine, tall grey- 

 bearded old hunter came forward. " You, Atozake ! " 

 I said, in some surprise ; for he had but lately joined 

 me, and, from an incident that had just occurred, I had 

 fancied him rather the reverse of plucky. 



He and a comparatively young hunter had very 

 severely wounded a solitary buffalo bull, and it had taken 

 refuge in a patch of thorn-thicket so dense that nothing 

 could be seen a yard distant in it, and there, though 

 within a few yards of the animal, and hearing it coughing, 

 as only a buffalo shot through the lungs will cough, they 

 had left it, and returned to receive the openly-expressed 

 jeers of their companions. 



" Yes, sir, me. Now that the old man who was afraid 



