54 FROM THE NIGER TO THE NILE 



time I heard a groan go shuddering through the circle round 

 the fire, and a man would jump up and rake the embers to 

 a blaze. 



Next morning I was surprised at being called by Jose, 

 who had not heeded the warning of my letter but come 

 straight through, arriving in camp without mishap at 3 a.m. 

 I was now feeling so shaky that I decided to take a day's 

 rest, but, anxious to have news of the lions, I told Jose, 

 who needed no encouragement, that he might conduct an 

 armed reconnaissance in their direction. Accordingly, Jose 

 set out with two men to hunt for them in their haunt of the 

 previous day, nor did he have to search for long before finding 

 them near a pool on the left of the Ibi road. They were 

 standing together on an ant-hill in the open, and Jose, going 

 forward to within one hundred yards, took aim at the male 

 just behind the ear and fired. The lion dropped like a stone 

 and the lioness sprang into the tall grass where she turned 

 and stood at gaze. Jose then advanced to inspect his prize 

 when suddenly he saw it make a move as though not quite 

 dead, so he thought it best to give the animal a little more 

 time and waited at a respectful distance. But to his great 

 surprise, after a few minutes the lion got up and trotted off 

 to his mate in the grass where they both disappeared. Jose 

 then went and examined the ground where he had fallen 

 and found some broken teeth, which proved that the bullet 

 had struck him in the jaw. Thinking that the wound must 

 prove fatal and that the body would be found lying dead a 

 little way in the grass, Jose determined to follow. But the 

 tracks led him further and further and always there were the 

 two, where the animals had crouched and flattened the grass. 



