202 THE EASTERN HUNTERS. 



him to fire from its back, jumped off, and threw the 

 bridle over his arm ; by some chance, however, 

 omitting to slip his hand through it. Well, he got 

 a fair shot, and hit one of the lions hard ; but the 

 noise startled the horse, and, as there was nothing 

 to check it, away it galloped, leaving my friend 

 standing. He fired his second barrel, and then 

 had the horror of seeing the wounded lion come 

 charging down towards him, all head, tail, and 

 legs, and roaring tremendously. His rifle was 

 empty and useless, and of course there was no time 

 to load. His first impulse was naturally to bolt as 

 hard as he could ; and, accordingly, away he 

 stumped for the nearest tree. But long before he 

 could reach it, the roars came closer and closer 

 behind him ; and he felt that he had not the 

 slightest chance of reaching the tree before being 

 overtaken by the angry brute. Still he sped on with 

 the instinct of self-preservation ; but the lion was 

 fast closing with him. What could he do ? There 

 was no time to be lost. In a few more bounds his 

 head might be crushed in by the blow of a paw, or 

 his mangled limbs be quivering in the animal's 

 relentless jaws. It suddenly occurred to him to try 

 and startle the beast by some unusual combination 

 of form and sounds. His resolve was immediately 

 taken, and acted on without delay. Stopping short 



