FIRST GLIMPSE OF A WILD LION 91 



had entirely disappeared from view. We rushed 

 after him. The rhino was completely forgotten 

 and was left to charge or run away as he saw fit. 

 When we reached the spot where the lion was last 

 seen there was no trace of him. He apparently was 

 not "as brave as a lion." We followed the course 

 that he presumably took and presently reached the 

 crest of a ridge. Then the second gunbearer, a 



Game Was Plenty for a Minute or Two 



keen-eyed Kikuyu, discovered the lion three hun- 

 dred yards off to the right. After reaching the top 

 of the hill the animal had swung directly off at 

 right angles with the idea of reaching cover in a 

 dry creek bed some distance away. I started to 

 shoot at three hundred yards, but before I could 

 take a careful aim the lion had disappeared in the 

 grass. For an hour we thrashed the high reeds in 

 the dry creek bed with never a sign of the king of 



