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 
