328 
WILD BEASTS AND THEIR WAYS 
CHAP. 
well"beaten path around our impenetrable fence, 
showing that the lion had been patrolling steadily 
throughout the night. This fact led me to suppose 
that I should most probably find him somewhere 
within a very short distance of the camp. I started 
with some of my best men, and instead of a light 
single-barrel I carried my *577 rifle. 
The position of our camp was exceedingly 
favourable for game, as the river made a circuitous 
bend, which had in ages past thrown up a mass of 
alluvial soil of several hundred acres, all of which 
was now covered with a succession of dense patches 
of nabbuk jungle, interspersed with forest trees and 
numerous small glades of fine dwarf grass, which 
formed a sward, I felt certain that our visitor of 
the last night must be somewhere in this neigh¬ 
bourhood, and I determined to devote the entire 
day to a rigorous search; in this my men were 
unanimous, as they objected to passing another 
night in sleepless excitement and anxiety. 
Luck was against us. I had numerous oppor¬ 
tunities during the day of shooting other animals, 
but I was devoted entirely to the lion, which we 
could not find. 
I was scratched with countless thorns, as we 
broke through the thickest bushes, peering beneath 
their dark shade, and searching every acre of the 
ground in vain. In spite of the great heat, we 
worked from early morning until half an hour 
before sunset without resting from our work ; all to 
no purpose ; there were tracks of lions in all 
