FIRST GLIMPSE OF A WILD LION 
87 
up the side of the mountain to the spot where the 
lions were supposed to be lurking—a long, reed- 
filled cleft in the side of the slope. The porters 
were sent up to one end of the reed bed, twenty on 
each side, while we went below to where the lion 
would probably be driven out by their shouting and 
noise. The porters bombarded the reeds with stones 
while we waited with rifles ready for the angry crea¬ 
ture to dash out in our vicinity. It was an interest¬ 
ing wait, with plenty of food for thought. I won¬ 
dered why the Englishmen had not come out to get 
the lions themselves, and then remembered that one 
of them had been mauled by a lion and had hence¬ 
forth remained neutral in all lion fights. I won¬ 
dered many other things which I have now forgot¬ 
ten. I was quite busy wondering for some time as I 
waited. In the meantime the lions failed to appear. 
Bushbuck, waterbuck, and lots of other herbiv- 
ora appeared, but no carnivora. We raked the reed 
bed fore and aft, and combed the long grass in 
every direction. A young rhino was startled in his 
morning nap, ran around excitedly for a while, and 
then trotted off. Birds of many varieties fluttered 
up and wondered what the racket was about. At 
ten o’clock we decided that the lions had failed to 
do their part of the program, and that no further 
developments were to be expected. So we marched 
back homeward, got mixed up with another rhino, 
and finally gained camp, seven miles away, just 
as our hunger had reached an advanced stage. 
The next day we marched to the Thika Thika 
