AT GRIPS WITH THE LION 67 



part of the boys when I prepared to follow up 

 once more the track of the lions fully confirmed 

 the idea. The ground was scratched and blood- 

 stained where the lion had been hit, and we 

 followed up the spoor very carefully. The lion, 

 we found, after moving about 200 yards and being 

 evidently pretty sick, had then laid down under- 

 neath a bush, leaving a pool of blood where he had 

 stopped. 



It was rather dangerous and ticklish work I felt, 

 and a good pack of dogs was badly needed. The 

 faithful Dingo had disappeared one night a month 

 or two before, probably taken by a leopard, and 

 I had been unable to get any others. The boys 

 were frightened, but still kept together pluckily 

 enough and slowly followed the spoor. Qumano, 

 however, had evidently shot his bolt ; he drew 

 the line at following a wounded lion, and he is 

 not to be blamed, for nobody knows more about 

 a lion than these little wild men. 



The spoor now showed that one of the lionesses 

 had come in and joined her wounded companion, 

 and when the double spoor presently took us into 

 a nasty thick piece of thorn-bush scrub, I decided, 

 in accordance with my boys' views, to leave the 

 lion for that day and to pick up the tracks again 

 next morning ; we thought that by that time there 

 was every chance that we should find him dead. 



So, leaving the spoor, we made our way back 

 to camp, which was not far off, for the lion had 

 taken that direction. That evening I turned in 



