290 IN THE GRIP OF THE NYIKA CHAP. XXH 



the tent in the moonlight with a rifle across my 

 knees. Suddenly the askari on duty at the watch 

 fire close by called out, "Bwana, simba!" ("Master, a 

 lion !"). Looking in the direction in which he pointed, 

 I plainly saw the beast stalking up to us, not fifty 

 yards away. I raised my rifle and covered him with 

 it, but did not pull the trigger, as he appeared to be 

 coming closer and I thought by waiting a second or 

 two longer he would give me a better opportunity 

 of shooting him. Unfortunately, however, at this 

 moment he caught sight of me, stepped behind a 

 bush and made off like a streak of light, so I did 

 not get another chance to fire. 



We kept a strict watch all round the camp for the 

 remainder of the night and luckily had no further 

 visits from him. 



