

HUNTING THE LION 27 



has had a narrow escape from a collision with a lion. 

 " A bicycle/' l he says, " had been sent to me during 

 my stay in Uganda and was constantly used by me 

 in taking my journeys abroad, and often I have had 

 most exciting times when on the wheel. One morning 

 I started off to visit a village some few miles away 

 from the Mission station. The road was well culti- 

 vated and about five feet wide. It was, in fact, the 

 main road leading to Uganda. I had reached the top 

 of a long hill, and on the other side was a gentle 

 slope into the valley beyond ; I knew the road well, 

 having often passed that way, and I therefore pre- 

 pared myself for a * coast.' Near the foot of the 

 hill was a slight turn in the road, and as I approached 

 it I put my feet again on to the pedals. I was 

 going at a great speed, and as I rounded the corner* 

 an awful sight met my gaze. Not twenty yards in 

 front there lay in the centre of the path a huge lion, 

 with head down upon his paws, facing the direction 

 from which I was coming. It was impossible for me 

 to stop the machine, the speed was too great. To 

 the left of the path 1 was a high wall of rock tower- 

 ing some twenty feet above my head; on the right 

 was a steep incline down, down, down for a hundred 

 feet to the river. I had scarcely a second to take 

 in the situation and to make up my mind as to 

 what course of action to pursue. It was a critical 

 moment. What could I do? To turn to the right 

 down the steep incline would have meant almost 

 certain destruction ; to attempt to stop, even if suc- 

 cessful, would have meant pulling up at the entrance 

 to the jaws of the king of the forest. I therefore 

 1 See Bibliography, 3. 



