CH. xxiii A SUCCESSFUL LION HUNT 261 



the incline or not, and I became so interested in the 

 contest between steam and friction and gravity, 

 that I did not notice that a visitor had approached 

 and was standing quietly beside me. 



On hearing the usual salutation, however, I turned 

 round and saw a lean and withered half-bred Masai, 

 clothed in a very inadequate piece of wildebeeste hide 

 which was merely slipped under the left arm and 

 looped up in a knot over the right shoulder. He 

 stood for a moment with the right hand held out on 

 a level with his shoulder, the fingers extended and 

 the palm turned towards me all indicating that he 

 came on a friendly visit. I returned his salutation, 

 and asked him what he wanted. Before answering, 

 he dropped down on his heels, his old bones cracking 

 as he did so. " I want to lead the Great Master to 

 two lions," he said; " they have just killed a zebra 

 and are now devouring it." On hearing this I 

 straightway forgot that I had already done a hard 

 day's work in the full blaze of an equatorial sun ; I 

 forgot that I was tired and hungry ; in fact, I forgot 

 everything that was not directly connected with the 

 excitement of lion-hunting. Even the old savage 

 at my feet grinned when he saw how keen I was 

 about it.' I plied him with questions were they 

 both lions or lionesses ? had they manes ? how far 

 away were they? and so on. Naturally, to the last 

 question he was bound to answer " fyrbali kidogo" 



