402 ELEPHANT-HUNTING IN EAST AFRICA chap. 



where I calculated its owner's chest must be ; but he had long 

 been dead. I afterwards found that my bullet would have 

 finished him had he needed it. But, just as I was going down 

 to him, Feruzi drew my attention to sounds, as of tearing, 

 which could be caught proceeding from inside the den ; and, 

 on our drawing nearer, some animal was heard breaking through 

 the cover on the far side, and two of my men banged off (of 

 course fruitlessly) as it scrambled up the bank. On the top 

 was a little open space which it would have to cross, and I 

 stood ready for a shot. It was the other lion, and it gave me 

 a beautiful broadside shot as it cantered across the few yards of 

 open before it reached the bush beyond. I felt I was dead on, 

 and hoped to see it go head over heels ; but my treacherous 

 gun played me false once more, sticking at half-cock, and to 

 my disgust the chance of laying the two marauders side by side 

 was lost. However, it was something to have been avenged 

 on one, and we carried him up in triumph. The bullet had 

 got him in the loins as he was entering the lair. He was one 

 of the small maneless lions, a mature male, and proved very 

 thin. The brutes were evidently rendered bold by hunger. 



During the day the kraal gate was made very solid, and I 

 thought the whole thing was now so strong that it would be 

 impossible for the donkeys to break out or a lion to get in. 

 Search was also made for the donkeys, and about half were 

 found, though ten were still missing. Of course I reset and 

 loaded the gun again. That evening, as I was lying on my 

 bed, smoking my last pipe before going to sleep, having already 

 been round with the men to make up a big fire of logs, which 

 we had lighted on the far side of the kraal, the gun went off 

 again. I jumped up and stood outside to listen, and some low, 

 gurgling growls followed from the same spot, which sounded 

 exactly like a lion's dying gasps, and were certainly made by 

 no hyena. After a few prolonged groans the sounds died away, 

 and all was still for the rest of the night, except for an occa- 

 sional slight chuckle of one of the latter animals crunching the 



