xx A DAY ON THE ATHI RIVER 223 



down by a rhino going to and fro to drink. 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 I 

 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. I 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 



