272 THE MAN-EATERS OF TSAVO CHAP. 



that it was the finest sight he had ever seen. For 

 a while we followed them on foot ; but rinding at 

 length that they were getting away from us and 

 would soon be lost to sight over a bit of rising 

 ground, we jumped quickly into the tonga and 

 galloped round the base of the knoll so as to cut 

 off their retreat, the excitement of the rough and 

 bumpy ride being intensified a hundredfold by the 

 probability of our driving slap into the pair on 

 rounding the rise. On getting to the other side, 

 however, they were nowhere to be seen, so we 

 drove on as hard as we could to the top, whence 

 we caught sight of them about four hundred yards 

 away. As there seemed to be no prospect of getting 

 nearer we decided to open fire at this range, and 

 at the third shot the lioness tumbled over to my 

 303. At first I thought I had .done for her, as for 

 a few minutes she lay on the ground kicking and 

 struggling ; but in the end, although evidently 

 badly hit, she rose to her feet and followed the 

 lion, who had escaped uninjured, into some long 

 grass from which we could not hope to dislodge 

 them. 



As it was now late in the afternoon, and as there 

 seemed no possibility of inducing the lions to 

 leave the thicket in which they had concealed 

 themselves, we turned back towards camp, intend- 

 ing to come out again the next day to track the 



