352 THE LION KILLER. 



that there might be no danger of a miss-fire in so desperate 

 an emergency. When the last cap was placed on the cones, 

 I felt relieved of an impending fate. We then moved back a 

 short distance from the jujube, to avoid any surprise, and 

 walked slowly towards the place where the lion had laid down, 

 but he had left it, and there was nothing to be seen of him. 



Had the animal, not seeing or hearing us any more, gone 

 to seek us ? I thought it prudent not to wait to resolve the 

 question. If he could get up and move out of sight in spite 

 of our three balls, it was certain that in case we suddenly 

 came upon him in the obscurity, he would make us pay dear 

 for our fun. 



I resolved, therefore, to go into camp and wait until day- 

 light should show us our game. After examining the place 

 where he had fallen, and noticing the pool of blood that marked 

 the spot, we regained our camp, taking care to keep always 

 on the open ground, and at a wary distance from every 

 thicket. 



The next morning with the early dawn we were in the 

 field, hastening towards the scene of the evening's encounter, 

 accompanied by the Sheik Mustapha and a number of Arabs. 



For more than a half hour we followed the track by the 

 blood the animal had left in his flight, without ever losing 

 the continuous trail. It seemed almost incredible that an 

 animal could bleed so much and still be able to move. 

 Wherever the bushes were thick, he had marked them on 

 both sides of his path, a sure sign that he had been pierced 

 through and through, and judging from the height of these 

 marks from the ground, the shots had taken effect directly 

 behind the shoulder. 



Presently the trail led into a thicket of wild olive trees, 

 that appeared a suitable cover for him to have taken refuge 

 in, and the Arabs stayed behind until I satisfied myself by 

 walking around the jungle, that the trail led no further, and 



