FIRST GLIMPSE OF A WILD LION 87 



up the side of the mountain to the spot where the 

 lions were supposed to be lurking a long, reed- 

 filled cleft in the side of the slope. The porters 

 were sent up to one end of the reed bed, twenty on 

 each side, while we went below to where the lion 

 would probably be driven out by their shouting and 

 noise. The porters bombarded the reeds with stones 

 while we waited with rifles ready for the angry crea- 

 ture to dash out in our vicinity. It was an interest- 

 ing wait, with plenty of food for thought. I won- 

 dered why the Englishmen had not come out to get 

 the lions themselves, and then remembered that one 

 of them had been mauled by a lion and had hence- 

 forth remained neutral in all lion fights. I won- 

 dered many other things which I have now forgot- 

 ten. I was quite busy wondering for some time as I 

 waited. In the meantime the lions failed to appear. 



Bushbuck, waterbuck, and lots of other herbiv- 

 ora appeared, but no carnivora. We raked the reed 

 bed fore and aft, and combed the long grass in 

 every direction. A young rhino was startled in his 

 morning nap, ran around excitedly for a while, and 

 then trotted off. Birds of many varieties fluttered 

 up and wondered what the racket was about. At 

 ten o'clock we decided that the lions had failed to 

 do their part of the program, and that no further 

 developments were to be expected. So we marched 

 back homeward, got mixed up with another rhino, 

 and finally gained camp, seven miles away, just 

 as our hunger had reached an advanced stage. 



The next day we marched to the Thika Thika 



