Pn oe 
at 
ax A DAY ON THE ATHI RIVER 223 
down bya rhino going to and fro todrink. I accord- 
ingly made for this with the greatest caution, order- 
ing all the men, except Mahina, to remain behind ; 
and as noiselessly as possible I slipped from cover to 
cover in my endeavour to obtain a peep over the 
bank. I saw that it was no use to attempt to climb 
a tree, as the overspreading foliage would have 
prevented me from obtaining any view ahead; so | 
continued my slow advance with a fast-beating 
heart, not knowing where the huge brute was and 
expecting every moment that he would charge out 
at me over the bank from his reedy refuge. 
Emboldened to a certain extent, however, by the 
fact that up till then I had heard no movement on 
the part of my enemy, I crept steadily forward and 
at last, from the shelter of a friendly tree behind 
the bole of which I hid myself, I was able to look 
over the bank. And there, not twenty yards from 
me, crouched the lion—luckily watching, not me, 
but the native who had first seen him and who had 
directed me to where he was. | raised my rifle very 
cautiously, without making the slightest sound, and 
steadying the barrel against the trunk of the tree 
and standing on tip-toe in order to get a better view, 
I fired plump at the side of his head. It was as 
if he had suddenly been hit with a sledge-hammer, 
for he fell over instantly and lay like a log. 
On my calling out that the lion was done for, the 
