178 THE LAND OF THE LION 



was coming up, the going heavy, just as fast as my tired 

 mule could gallop, but closer up I could not get, for deeper 

 and deeper the bog ground grew, when I saw something 

 was the matter. H. was trying to go backward as fast 

 as he could. His pony, free of his weight, was out of the 

 scrape, but H. seemed about to get into it. The lion 

 was not coming on very fast, but his wound had angered 

 him, and unquestionably, he meant business. Why H. 

 was trying to get away as fast as the soft, swampy ground 

 would let him, of course I could not tell. In any case, 

 I had to do my thinking quickly. I was two hundred 

 and fifty yards away (afterward we measured the ground 

 and thought it three hundred a long distance from which 

 to make a diversion in my friend's behalf) ; but H. and the 

 lion were getting far too close together. I must do my 

 best, and do it quickly, too. I threw myself off, the ground 

 was clear of grass just there. I could see all the length of 

 that fine, long side. I drew a deep breath to steady my 

 shaking arms, and a quick sight, aiming well over the 

 backbone. "Phut!" The bullet was home a little 

 far back, as it proved, but only a very little. Anyway, it 

 took the fight out of him. He slowly turned round growling, 

 and instead of going farther to the papyrus, lay quickly 

 down a few yards away in the long grass bordering the 

 stream we had been riding along. I left my quite beaten 

 mule, where he stood, and made as fast time to H.'s side 

 across the bog as I was able. When I got there, the mys- 

 tery of his retreat was cleared up. He hadn't had time to 

 grasp the bandoleer that held his cartridges in the hurry 

 of our second start, and thus it was that he found himself, 

 after firing that snap shot in the grass, which, fortunately, 

 made the lion stand, facing an angry charge in a most 

 disadvantageous position, with only one bullet in his gun. 

 The grass was rank and high on the borders of the stream 

 where his horse had bogged. He had a very poor chance 



