ORDER OF MARCH. 123 



The monarch of the place, a magnificent lion, stood 

 on a small rocky ledge, about half way up one of 

 the surrounding hills. He kept his face steadily 

 turned towards the Kafilah, moving round as its 

 long line marched silently past. My carabine was 

 cocked in a moment, for I concluded that he was 

 meditating an attack ; but my companions inti- 

 mated, that if we left him alone he would keep his 

 distance, and not molest us. Once I gave the 

 long-drawn death-halloo of the chase, but all the 

 natives gathered hurriedly around me to prevent 

 my repeating it; and I found that I had only 

 succeeded in frightening them, without having had 

 any other effect upon the lion but the slow lashing 

 with his tail of his yellow sides, a movement that 

 indicated anger rather than fear. He, however, 

 respected our numbers, and we left him still gazing 

 in his original position, until the last of the camels 

 had placed the shoulder of a projecting hill between 

 him and them. It was proposed, in order to 

 shorten the distance, that I and a party of the 

 Kafilah men, with Garahmee and Moosa, should 

 take a short cut over the hills, rather than the much 

 longer, though more pleasant road around their 

 base ; and as I wished to impress Garahmee, whose 

 abilities as a plotter I began to think were of the 

 first order, that I could still trust myself with him 

 and his associates, and at the same time be deter- 

 mined to take care of myself, I made no objection to 

 the proposal, but insisted upon walking the last in 



