NOTES ON SOMALILAND, 95 
intruders were. We continued to track for some way but his spoor showed 
that he was going ata canter and we came to the conclusion that having 
been twice disturbed by human beings within the last 24 hours he wouldin 
all probability go for a long distance, especially as the day was yet young 
_and the weather cool ; so we decided to try our luck with a fresh lion, and 
after delaying a few minutes to extract the “lucky bones’ (which I forgot 
yesterday) from the lioness’s carcase, we returned to the kill, intending to 
pick up one of the other tracks. There was such a maze of. footprints 
round the dead camel that we took some time to unravel it, but in the end 
we found to our chagrin that all the tracks had been made by the same lion, 
who must have prowled round and round for some hours before he finally 
hardened his heart and tackled the camel. Judging from the directiun from 
which he had come, the size of his tracks, and his appearance, [ had no doubt 
that he was the mate of the lioness I shot yesterday, returned to make a 
cannibal meal off the carcase of his late consort, whose flesh he evidently 
found more to his taste than that of the emaciated camel that he had first 
killed. So much of the latter remained that we thoughi the lion would in 
all probability return again to-night for another repast, and so turned our 
attentions to a fresh Rhino track which we had come across while tracing 
back the spoor of the lion ; but after following it a short distance, D, S., who 
was out for the first time, after being laid up for a week with astrained 
back, began to feel that he had had enough, and was obliged to return to 
camp, leaving me to try my luck with the Rhino, I took his gun-bearer Abdi 
and my Midgan boy with me, and told my Arab camelman to follow our 
tracks with my ridiny camel, keeping a quarter-of-a-mile or so behind, It 
was not long before I came on fresh droppings, and a few minutes later it 
became obvious that the Rhino had winded us for he turned down wind, and 
the tracks showed that he was going at a trot. Soon after 11 o’clock, Abdi 
being then on the track, we heard the cracking of a twig close by, and pulled 
up to listen, and a moment later I caught sight of a swaying, yellow mass, 
‘showing above a clump of high grass, beneath the shade of a low overhanging 
mimosa bush, about 20 yards ahead, It was evidently the upper half of the 
Rhino's back, yellow with the sandy soil in which he had been rolling, and I 
thought I could make him out, standing almost facing me, with his near 
shoulder exposed, and his head, which I could not see, turned away to his 
right, Presuming that he must have seen and heard us, as we had him, I 
aimed at the point of the shoulder and fired. There was a violent com- 
motion in the grass ; he seemed to be trying to spin round, and I gave him 
the other barrel in much the same place, thinking that if he charged 
I could take my “ Paradox” from Abdi, who was by my side ; but when I 
turned to do so, there was no Abdi; hehad done the vavishing trick, 
and at, the. same moment out burst the Rhino, puffing like a steem- 
engine, and coming stright for me. There was no time to reload, 
