, 1888-12-20

did not kill him hc would be dead by morn
ing. Indeed, was afraid that he would be
of little use 05 bait, for q hon is @ sportS-
rlanlike animal, and, unless he is very hun
cry, generally prefers to kill his own dinner,
though when once killed he VIII come back
to it again and again.
Then we repeated our experience Of the
previous night, sitting there hour aftor hour,
till ut last Harry went fast asleep, and even
!, though am accustomed TO this sort OF
thing could scarcely keep my eyes open.
Indeed. was Just dropping of, when Pha-
raoh gave me q shove.
"'LiStenr lie whispered.
~ was all awake III second, and listening
with all my ears. From the clump Of bush to
the right OF the lightning shattered stump TO
which the OF was tied cana c faint cracking
noise. Presently it was repeated. Something
vas moving there, family and quietly enough,
but still moving perceptibly, for IN the in
tense stiffness Of the night any sound seemed
loud.
II woke up Harry, who instantly said:
Where is shell Where is sheF and began 70
point his rife about in fashion that was
more dangerous to Us and the oxen than to
any possible honess-
Hush upr whispered savagely; and as
did so with low and hideous growI a fash
VI yellow light sped out OF the clump OF bush,
past the OK, and into the corresponding clump
upon the other side. Tho poor sick brute gave
sort or groan, ana staggered round and tnen
began to tremblc. / could see it do so clearly
i'll the moonlight, which was now very bright,
and felt brute for having exposed the un-
fortunate animal to such terror as he must
undoubtedly be undergoing. The lioneSs, for
it was she, passed quickly that we could
not even distinguish her movements, much
less shoot. Indeed ct night it is absolutely
useless to attempt to shoot unless the object
is very close and standing perfectly still, and
then the light is deceptive and it is so diff
cult to see the foresight that the best shot
will miss more often than he hits.
:. She will be back again presently said:
ilook out, but for heavens sake don't fire un-
less tell you to-
Hardly were the words out Of my mouth
when back she came and again passed the OK
without striking him.
What on earth is she doing? whispered
Harry.
Playing with 1t as a cat does mouse, 1
suppose She will kill it presently
"As spoke the lioness once more flashed
out of the bush, and this time sprang right
over the doomed OK. 1t was an exciting
sight TO see her clear him in the bright moon
light, Us though it were trick that she had
been taught.
whispered Harry; its jolly TO see her jump
II said nothing, but l thought to myself
that if it was Master Harry did not quite ap-
preoiate the performance, and small blame
TO him. At any rate, his teeth were chatter
ing bit.
Then came longish pause, and l began
to think that she must have gone away,
when suddenly she appeared again, and
with one mighty bound landed right on to
the OK and struck it q frightful blow with
her paw
Down it went, and lay on the ground.
| She put down her wicked looking head with
| a fierce growl of contentment. When she
lifted her muzzle again and stood facing us
obliqueIy, whispered, 'Now's our time, fire
| when do
81 got on to her as well as / could, but
| Harry, instead of waiting for me as ! told
him, fired before / did, and that of course
hurried me. When the smoke cleared, how
| ever, 1 was delighted TO see that the iioness
| was rolling about ON the ground behind
| the body of the OK, which covered her
in such q fashion, however, that we could not
shoot again to make an end Of her.
"'She's done for! she's deadP yelled
Pharaoh in exultation; and at that very mo
| n-gkG the lioness, with a sort Of conyulsiya
rad, half rolled, half sprang into the patch
c. thick bush 20 the right. fired after her
ss she went, but so far as / could see without
result. Indeed. the probability is that /
| missed her clean. At any rate, she got TO the
bush in safety, and once there, began TO make
such q diabolical noise as l never heard be
fore. She would whine and shrek, then
burst out into perfect volleys OF roaring that
shook the whole place.
"'Well,' said, we must just let her roar;
| to go into that bush after her at night would
| be madness
"At that moment, to my astonishment and
| alarm, there came an answering roar from.
tho direction Of the river and then another
from behind the swell of BUSH Evidently
| there wero more lions about The wounded
honess redoubled her efforts, with the object,
suppose, of summoning the others to her as
sistance. At any rate they came, and
| quickly, too, for within five minutes, peepinS
| through the bushes of our skerm fence, We
| saw magnificent lion bounding along to
ward US through the tall tamboulin grass
that in the moonlight looked for all the world
| like ripening corn. On he came in great
leaps, and glorious sight it was TO see him.
When within fifty yards or so he stood still
| in an open space and roared, md the lioness
roared too, and then there came a third roar,
and another great black named lion stalked
majestically up and joined No. 2, and really
4
undergone.
"'Now, Harry I whispered, whatever
you do, don't fire-it's too risky. II they let
us be, let them be-
"Well, the pair of them marched or TO the
bush, where the wounded EoneSs was now
roaring double tides, and the whole three Of
them began to snarl and grumble away TO-
gether there. Presently, however, the lion
ess ceased roaring and the two lions came out
again, the black named one fiTst-to prospect,
suppOse-and walked to where the carcass
of the OK lay and shifted at it.
"'Oh, what a shotp whispered Harry, who
was trembling with excitement.
eyes / said, but don't fire; they might
all Of them come for u.s.
Harry said nothing, but whether it was
from the natural willfulness of youth, or be-
cause ho was thrown Off his balance by ex-
| citement, or from sheer recklessness, / am
sure cannot tell you, never having been
| able to get q satisfactory explanation from
| him; but at any rate the fact remains, he,
| without q word of warning, entirely disre-
garding my exhortations, lifted up his West
ley Richards and fired at the black manea
lion; and, what is more, hit it slightly ON the
flank
Next second there was most awful roar
from the injured brute He glared around
| Hiiii s-iiu oei GU Win pain, lOr ne WAS sauiS
stung; and then, before could make up my
mind what to do, the great black named
brute, evidently ignorant of the cause of his
pain, sprang right at the throat OF his COIL
panion, to whom he evidently attributed his
misfortune. 1t was q curious sight TO see the
evident astonishment OF the other lion at this
most unprovoked assault. Over he rolled
with IN angry roar, and on to him spranG
the black named demon, and commenced
to worry him. This finally awoke
the yellow named lion to q sense
Of the situation, and I am bound
to say that he rose to the occasion in a
most effective manner. Somehow or other
he got to his feet, and roaring and smarting
frightfully closed with his mighty foe And
then ensued q scene that absolutely battles
description. You know what a shocking
thing it IS to see two large dogs fighting with