174 
In the Heart of Africa 
he dragged himself some thirty paces further to some bushes, 
where he fell. Approaching nearer to give him his quietus, 
I found this to be unnecessary, for the lion was dead. 
When I sighted this animal there was plenty of wild game 
near, yet I did not notice that the proximity of their enemy 
caused them any uneasiness. I therefore do not share the view 
that the small game disperse in wild flight when a lion appears. 
On many occasions I have from a distance observed a lion moving 
round in the grasses of a plain abounding with game, yet I only 
noticed signs of uneasiness amongst the antelopes stationed 
immediately in the marauder’s path or browsing near. Animals 
further away contented themselves with merely a careful glance. 
But I have never seen the creatures excited on hearing the roar 
of “the king of beasts.” 
I do not desire to put my readers’ patience to too great 
a test, and so will mention briefly that on the next day some 
of the carriers, whilst searching for wood in the immediate 
neighbourhood of the camp, came across three lionesses and four 
big cubs sleeping in a gully of the gorge already mentioned. 
Unfortunately, the man who brought me the news arrived at 
the very moment that I bagged a reed-buck for our larder, and 
though I was on the same side of the ravine as that where the 
lions lay, I was quite unconscious of their presence. The camp 
was immediately in commotion, and everyone was gazing atten¬ 
tively towards the spot where the lions, roused by the shot, were 
fleeing. 
Again my mood was hardly of the merriest, for had the man 
reached me a few seconds before I fired my shot at the reed- 
buck, I should without doubt have easily got within good 
shooting distance. As it was, I only succeeded in hitting a 
young lioness after a lengthy chase, who, injured by a wound 
in the intestines, concealed herself in a thicket, and was found 
dead the following day. 
Returning from the search for her body, I shot a leopard, 
the only specimen I have ever encountered in Africa by daylight. 
This little incident was not without a trace of piquancy, for. 
