THE LION IN SOUTH AFRICA 341 
fear of touching a branch behind me and making a noise. I 
could see the black crest of mane between his ears move 
lightly in the wind, for he was so near that had I held my rifle 
by the small of the stock I could have touched him with the 
muzzle by holding it at arm’s length. Once only he turned 
his head and looked round right into my eyes, but of course 
without seeing me, as I was in the dark, and apparently 
without taking the slightest alarm, as he again turned his 
head and stood looking at the waggon as before. I could 
only see his head, his shoulder being hidden by the right-hand 
stem of the tree, and I had made up my mind to try and blow 
his brains out, thinking I was so near that I could not fail 
to do so even without being able to see the sight of my rifle. 
I had just got the muzzle of my rifle into the fork of the tree, 
and was about to raise it quite leisurely, the lion having 
hitherto showed no signs of uneasiness. I was working as 
cautiously as possible, when without the slightest warning he 
suddenly gave a low grating growl, and turned round, his head 
disappearing instantly from view. With a jerk, I pulled the 
muzzle of my rifle from the one opening and pushed it through 
the other, just as the lion walked rapidly past in the direction 
from which he had come. He was not more than four or 
five yards from me, and I should certainly have given him a 
mortal wound, had not my rifle missed fire at this most criti- 
cal juncture, the hammer giving a loud click in the stillness of 
the night. At the sound the lion broke into a gallop, and was 
almost instantly out of sight. © 
For a moment I was almost paralysed by the magnitude of 
the misfortune that had befallen me. That a magnificent 
_ black-maned lion should have been within six feet of the muzzle 
of my rifle, and should yet have escaped, owing to a miss-fire, 
seemed the very irony of fate. I could scarcely believe that the 
whole scene was not an illusion or a vivid dream ; but when I 
called out in Dutch, ‘Myn Gott, John, myn roer het dopje 
afgeklap’ (‘ My God, John, my gun has missed fire ’), and heard 
him answer, ‘Ik hor em, Sir’ (‘I heard it, Sir’), then I knew 
