The Yale expositor., 1897-01-22
I A Tale of
! Three Lions
CHAPTER u.-(CoNrrSunp.
n. RIDER HAGGARD

uneasy. We have been here three
nights now, and If they were going to
pay us visit l should think that they
would have done so before this. How
ever, we will make up the fire.
Here, Pharaoh, do you and jim
Jim get some more wood before we go
to sleep, else the cats will be purring
round you before morning
Pharaoh, great brawny Swat, who
had been working for me at Pilgrims
Rest, laughed, rose, and stretched
himself, and then calling to Jim-Jim
to bring the AK and a REIN, started off
in the moonlight toward a clump of
sugar-bush where we cut our fuel from
some dead trees. He was fine fellow
in this way, was Pharaoh because he
had an Egyptian cast of countenance
and royal sort of swagger about him.
But his way was a somewhat peculiar
way, on account of the uncertainty of
his temper, and very few people could
get on with him; also if he could get
Ii he would drink like a fish, and when
he drank he became shockingly blood
thirsty. These were his bad points;
his good ones were that, like most peo-
pie of the Zulu blood, he became ex-
ceedingly attached to you if he took to
you at all; he was a Woodworking and
intelligent man, and about as dare
devil and plucky a fellow at pinch as
| ever had to do with. He was about
five-and-thirty years of age or so, but
nj
lieve he got into trouble in some way
in Swaziland, and the authorities of
his tribe would not allow him to as
sumo the ring, and that is why he
came to work at the gold fields. The
other man, or rather lad, Jim-Jim, was
Mapoch Kafir, or Knobnose, and
even in the light of subsequent events
l fear that l cannot speak very well Of
him. He was an idle and careless
young rascal, and only that very morn
ing l had to tell Pharaoh to whip him
for letting the oxen stray, which he did
with the greatest gusto, although he
was, in his own way, very fond of Jim
Jim, and saw him consoling him af-
terward with pinch of snuff from his
own ear-box, whilst he explained to
him that the next time it came in the
way of duty to fog him, he meant to
thrash with the other hand, so as to
cross the old cuts and make pretty
pattern on his back.
well, off they went, though jim
Jim did not at all like leaving the
camp at that hour, even though the
moonlight was so bright, and in due
course returned safely enough with a
great bundle of wood. / laughed at
Jim-Jim, and asked him if he had seen
anything, and he said yes, he had; he
had seen two large yellow eyes staring
at him from behind bush, and heard
something snore.
"As, however, on further investiga-
tion the yellow eyes and the ,snore APP
peared to have existed only in jim
Jim's lively imagination, / was not
greatly disturbed by this alarming re-
port but having seen to making up of
the fire, got into the skerm and went
quietly to sleep with Harry by my
side.
Some hours afterward / woke up
with a start. l don't know what woke
me. The moon had gone down, or at
least was almost hidden behind the
soft horizon of bush, only her red rim
being visible. Also wind had sprung
up and was driving long hurrying lines
of cloud across the starry sky, and al
together a great change had came over
NEn nf he aferh lxr he oh
of the sky / judged that we must be
about two hours from day-break.
"The oxen, which were as usual tied
to the disselboom of the Scotch cart,
were very restless-they kept snuffing
and blowing, and rising up and lying
down again, and l at once suspected
that they must wind something. Pres
emily l knew what it was that they
winded, for within fifty yards of us a
lion roared not very loud.
Pharaoh was sleeping on the other
side of the cart, and beneath it | saw
him raise his head and listen.
"'Lion, Inkoos, he whispered, lion.
"Jim-Jim also jumped up, and by
the faint light could see that he was
in very great fright indeed.
Thinking that it was as we'll to be
prepared for emergencies, / told
Pharaoh to throw wood upon the fire.
and woke up Harry, who l verify be-
lieve was capable of sleeping through
the crack of doom. He was a little
scared at first, but presently the excite
ment of the position came home to him.
and he became quite anxious to see his
majesty face to face. / got my rifle
handy and gave Harry his-a Wesley
Richard falling block, which is very
useful gun for youth, being light and
yet good killing rife, and then we
waited.
For long time nothing happened,
and | began to think that the best
thing that we could do would be to go
to sleep again, when suddenly / heard
sound more like cough than a roar
within about twenty yards of the
skerm. We all looked out, but could
see nothing; and then followed an
other period of suspense. 1t was very
trying to the nerves, this waiting for
II 4. l.