THE LION ESCAPES 



thought he had won ; but suddenly a Somali dashed 

 in from the side, turned him, and it seemed as though 

 he were done, and we had him hemmed in on all sides, 

 and we had won ! 



We were ready, more than ready, to dash down for 

 the finish, the final act with the spears, when suddenly 

 the great brute leapt forward, past the horsemen, 

 past everything, and, going like the wind, gained the 

 shelter of the thick bush. 



The xMasai simply groaned. I do not know what 

 the SomaHs said. It was a terrible disappointment. 



We trekked on another half mile, crossed a small 

 river, and camped. 



Then every porter with every available tin and 

 noise-producing implement was sent out to shout and 

 yell and make as horrible a row as possible in the 

 hope of making the lion bolt. But all in vain, the 

 brute seemed to have vanished into thin air. 



By the time the beaters had finished I also had had 

 enough. Fever had got me in its grip, and I was only 

 too glad to turn in and huddle myself up in the blankets, 

 leaving everything else to my friends. 



It is curious how when you have malaria you 

 seem to lose all interest in what is going on around you ; 

 your main idea is to be left alone in your misery, your 

 one luxury is to be able to He still. 



The following morning I was able to get up, 

 though feeUng far from well. As a matter of fact, I 



195 



