58 Three Months' Leave in Somali Land. 



gun when she was about five yards off and she 

 instantly turned, turned as quick as a flash, her 

 feet cutting great furrows in the ground. I did 

 not fire till I was quite certain she had given it 

 up and then I fired at her hind quarters as she 

 was turning a bush to her left. I felt at the 

 time I had gone to the right of her, loaded and 

 found everything gone. First lioness had picked 

 herself up and gone. They had both gone into 

 dense high grass. I felt certain both were well 

 hit ; the one that charged had a big blood splash 

 just behind her shoulder, I saw it as she turned, 

 so I said I would give them an hour to cool ; it 

 was half-past 10 o'clock. Jama and Ali got up 

 the tree, but could see nothing. At 11 o'clock I 

 got tired of waiting, and we advanced cautiously 

 into the long grass and found both lionesses 

 lying dead four yards apart, fifteen yards from 

 the small open patch and only about thirty or 

 less from the tree, the grass being so high and 

 dense that neither could be seen from the tree- 

 top. First lioness was evidently lying on her 

 back when I shot her first, for my shot hit her 

 on the elbow and came out at the top of the 

 shoulder, smashing the bone to flinders. 



