A SLEEPING SENTRY 



Recently I had been suffering greatly from insomnia, 

 a very common complaint in the game veldt — I 

 suppose the strain of being constantly on the alert 

 overtires the brain — and about two o'clock in the 

 morning I threw my blankets aside and went to the 

 camp-fire, intending to sit there and smoke until I 

 grew sleepy. The fire had burnt low, the guard who 

 was supposed to tend it being stretched out by the 

 tent fast asleep. I was just going to rouse him when 

 I happened to look round. The shock I received was 

 a nasty one. There but a bare twelve yards away, 

 his eyes blazing like two glowing coals, was a lion. 



A single bound took me back into the tent. A 

 moment later I had seized Clark's rifle and had roused 

 its owner with a kick. But when I looked out again, 

 cautiously this time, those eyes were no longer visible. 

 I suppose my hurried movements had shown the lion 

 that he had just missed his chance of seizing that 

 sleeping guard. Had he been a minute or so earlier 

 the boy would have paid for his fault with his life. 



In Nairobi my first thought was naturally to 

 develop those precious films which had cost so much 

 time and trouble to secure. As soon as the pictures 

 began to appear I heaved a sigh of rehef . The light had 

 been all right. Of course, I was delighted, and went 

 on with the whole length ; but, alas ! when the film 

 was dry, and I was able to examine it properly, there 

 was not a trace, except in one corner, of the lions 



137 



