342 THE HUNTING GEOUNDS 



seeing me advance, he again stopped, and, coucliing 

 low on his belly, growled in a most savage manner. 

 I felt that ' the die was cast,' and there was no re- 

 treating; it was a regular duel between man and 

 beast, and was beginning to be rather serious work, 

 for we were barely sixty yards asunder. The lion 

 still lay with his head couched between his paws, 

 although every now and then he appeared to rise, 

 and tear up the earth with his hind claws. His 

 eyeballs glistened with rage, his mane stood erect, 

 his tail lashed his flanks, and I felt he was watching 

 my every movement, and that further delay was 

 dangerous. T therefore quietly cocked my second 

 gun, laid it by my side on the ground, and then gave 

 a loud shout, at the same time flinging my pith 

 hunting-cup towards him. This had the desired 

 efifect ; he sprung upon his feet, and at this moment 

 looked grand beyond conception. Now was the 

 moment . I threw up my rifle , took deliberate aim 

 at his broad and massive breast, and let fly. I heard 

 the soft ' thud ' of the ball as it entered his chest, 

 saw him spring high into the air, and fall upon his 

 back. I rushed up to give him a coup de grace, but 

 it was not needed ; a convulsive tremor passed over 

 his sturdy limbs, blood gushed from his nose and 

 mouth, the under-jaw dropped, and my first lion 

 was dead. He was a noble animal, measuring over 

 eleven feet from the tip of his nose to the end of the 

 tail. The lioness and cubs, on hearing the shot, 

 made for a small copse about a mile distant ; and 



