160 THE LION KILLER. 



And now attention. Lionesses and young lions have claws 

 and teeth, which can tear and kill perfectly well. Do not 

 commence by a fault. The marauders have a thousand good 

 reasons to give you no quarter ; so be on the watch. If a 

 man appears, let him see the end of your rifle and cry out, 

 pass on ! He knows you do not want him, and will probably 

 obey. In any case, be on your guard, and do not let your- 

 self be killed like a worm. If it is a lion, await with your 

 rifle to your shoulder, and the finger on the trigger, until he 

 is opposite you on the path ; he will stop on seeing you. 



Just behind the shoulder is a good point to aim at, but it 

 is by no means a dead shot. A lion that I had shot through 

 and through in the shoulder with two balls, cut down two 

 Arabs and carried off my spahi Rostain. 



Aim between the eye and ear if the animal's side is towards 

 you ; between the eyes if he fronts you. Then fire ! he will 

 fall. Wait for a moment on the defensive, and do not 

 approach him until he no longer gives a sign of life. 



If it is a hyena that the jackal has signalled to you by 

 his cry, let him go. The Arabs say : Cowardly as an hyena, 

 and they are right. This is the way you must manage in 

 case you are fortunate enough to meet the enemy. 



It is probable that for a whole moon you will have to 

 wander over the mountain and plain without seeing the lion. 

 Do not be discouraged ; remember the Arabian proverb : There 

 are a hundred douars, a hundred roads, and a hundred fords 

 for one lion. 



The proverb is wrong ; for there are more than a thousand 

 douars, a thousand roads, and a thousand fords for one lion. 



