194 
THE LION. 
my hands and knees i and the lion, in consequence, 
might easily have pounced upon me without a 
moment’s warning. At that time, however, I had 
not obtained any experimental knowledge of the 
old saying—“A burnt child dreads the fire,” and 
therefore felt little or no apprehension. 
Thus I had proceeded for some time; when sud¬ 
denly, and within a few paces of where I stood, I 
heard a low, angry growl, which caused the dogs, 
with hair erect in the manner of hogs’ bristle, and 
with their tails between their legs, to slink behind 
my heels. Immediately afterwards, a tremendous 
shout of “ Ongeama ! Ongeama ! ” was raised by 
the natives on the bank above, followed by a dis¬ 
charge of fire-arms. Presently, however, all was 
still again, for the lion, as I subsequently learnt, 
after showing himself on the outskirts of the brake, 
had retreated into it. 
Once more I attempted to dislodge the beast; 
but, finding the enemy awaiting him in the more 
open country, he was very loth to leave his strong¬ 
hold. Again, however, I succeeded in driving him 
to the edge of the brake, where, as in the first 
instance, he was received with a volley; but a 
broom-stick would have been equally as efficacious 
as a gun in the hands of these people, for, out of 
a great number of shots that were fired, not one 
seemed to have taken effect. 
Worn out at length by my exertions, and dis¬ 
gusted beyond measure at the way in which the 
natives bungled the affair, I left the tamarisk brake, 
and, rejoining them on the bank above, offered to 
