156 THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO CHAP. 
clination to explore the gloomy depths of the 
interior, but thinking that there might possibly still 
be a lioness or cub inside, I fired a shot or two into 
the cavern through a hole in the roof. Save for a 
swarm of bats, nothing came out; and after taking 
a photograph of the cave, I gladly left the horrible 
‘*BEYOND ALL DOUBT: THE MAN-EATERS DEN 
spot, thankful that the savage and insatiable brutes 
which once inhabited it were no longer at large. 
Retracing my steps to the main ravine, I continued 
my journey along it. After a little while I fancied 
I saw a hippo among some tall rushes growing on 
the bank, and quickly signed to Mahina and Moota 
to stay perfectly still. I then made a careful stalk, 
only to discover, after all my trouble, that my eyes 
