LION STORIES 119 



lion was just in the act of turning with a savage 

 snarl and bristling mane when Johnson fired, the 

 big soft bullet smacking in close behind the 

 shoulder and knocking the lion in a sprawling 

 heap. In spite of this, his vitality was so great 

 that he regained his feet and made off through 

 the grass. The spoor showed he was desperately 

 hurt, blood and pieces of lung being coughed up 

 along the track, so Johnson said to his boys, 

 " What shall we do now ; shall we go after him still 

 or will you run away i " " No," said they, all 

 showing their spears, " we won't run away, master, 

 we will stick to you." This showed pluck on their 

 part, but they were a good class of African, and 

 trusted Johnson as they would have trusted no 

 ordinary white man. Eighty yards off the lion 

 had lain down to die in a clump of bush, but when 

 Johnson and his boys got up to about thirty 

 yards from this, out he came for a last charge, 

 game to the end, growling horribly and striking 

 out with his great forepaws. It was a wasted 

 effort. He could only stagger for half a dozen 

 yards and then collapse, completely finished. This 

 lion stood just under four feet at the shoulder 

 and weighed 440 lb. The first shot had touched 

 his upper lip, cutting it for about two inches ; 

 just enough to put him in a bad temper. 



We were discussing what an uncertain beast 

 the lion is, and how impossible it is to count on 

 the behaviour of any individual, when Rensberg 

 told us how a friend of his, John Home, had been 



