TWO DIANAS IN SOMALILAND 61 
typical bit of jungle cover. The lions sought it so 
readily, as they had dined so heavily that they were 
feeling overdone. The men went around the lair and 
shouted and beat at the back. Whether the cats were 
driven forward or not with the din, or whether they 
had not penetrated far within the retreat at first, I 
cannot, of course, tell, but I saw from thirty-five yards 
off, as I stood with my finger on the trigger, ferocious 
gleaming eyes, and heard ugly short snarls, breaking 
into throaty suppressed roars every two or three 
seconds. The jungle cover parted, and with lithe 
stretched shoulders a lioness shook herself half free of 
the density, then crouched low again. Down, down, 
until only the flat of her skull showed, and her small 
twitching ears. In one more moment she would be 
on us. I heard Cecily say something. I think it may 
have been “ Fire ! ” Sighting for as low as I could see 
on that half arc of yellow I pulled the trigger, and 
Cecily’s rifle cracked simultaneously. The head of 
the lioness pressed lower, and nothing showed above 
the ridge of grass and thorn. The lioness must be 
dead. And yet, could one kill so great a foe so simply ? 
We stood transfixed. The sun blared down, a butterfly 
flickered across the sand, a cricket chirruped in long- 
drawn, twisting notes. These trifles stamped them- 
selves on my memory as belonging for ever to the 
scene, and now I cannot see a butterfly or hear a 
cricket’s roundelay without going back to that day of 
days and wonder unsurpassed. 
Then I did an inanely stupid thing. It was my first 
ljon shoot, and my ignorance and enthusiasm carried 
