CREATURES OF THE WILDERNESS 159 



away, and flinging 1 their assegais about with 

 so little regard for what they might hit, that 

 there was worse to fear than the lion, which 

 never once showed so much as its nose. They 

 spent the whole day in that reed-bed with the 

 brute, which often made itself heard, but was 

 never seen. Once, indeed, it did break a 

 short way out of covert, but quickly turned in 

 again. And so the sun went down, the party 

 were dead tired, and they had to give it up, 

 hoping that the lion might still be in posses- 

 sion next morning. They were back again at 

 daybreak, but the lion's tracks were now seen 

 leading unmistakably away from the reed- 

 bed, and, although they followed the spoor for 

 a mile or more, they never set eyes on the 

 animal again. That particular lion was un- 

 questionably a coward, believing in the policy 

 of living to fight another day, and on this 

 account the more interesting by way of contrast 

 with the many lions that have faced tremen- 

 dous odds and died fighting. 



On the second occasion, Mr. Reid was 

 luckier, though here also he ran great risk of 

 being mauled, if no worse. It was in Barotse- 

 land this time, and about the hour of sunset. 

 He was sitting in camp and had, in fact, re- 

 placed his boots and gaiters with a pair of 

 slippers, previous to cooking his supper, when 

 one of the camp boys came running up with 



