Evening star., 1940-01-21


sprlnging on her back. set his claws
in her neck, pulling upwards and
backwards until with one awful
wrench her vertebra would be broken.
Mompiki was a young lion; otherwise
he might have known that the only
thing that kept her there was young
one - and he might have had enough
sense to leave her alone,
He snarled. Mabak faced that Snarl
and kept facing it. But the hon was
smart. Two seconds after he had gwen
away his whereabouts he was twenty
feet away on the right. He snarled
again, and again Mabak faced the
challenge That was clever, for now
the lion went back to his original line
of approach - directly up wind.
Shabane, in the thiCket, might have
been dead. He blinked his eyes slowly,
inscrutably
Mabak stood about fifteen feet
away, little clear of the trees, the
grass up to her belly. Mompiki roared
and it was terrifying. 1t sllenced the
crickets and made the brlstles on the
back of watching jackal go up in
fright. But it had no visible effect on
Mabak Two jumps brought the hon
to his prey. The Sable turned. but not
quite fast enough to prevent the hon $
getting half way on to her back, where
he hung, his front claws set in her
shoulder, trying to pull the rest of his
five hundred pounds onto her back.
But N1abak was fighting for some
thing besides herself, and she felt no
fear and no pain At the same instant
that the hon landed on her. she Jerked
back her head; her horns caught her
foe Just below his shoulder. pierced
him completely, but not fatally -
entering her own flesh underneath.
In that position the skewered hon
and the weighted antelope went mad.
The sounds of frustrated rage were
savage beyond belief - but they all
came from the lion The Sable saved
her breath for her whirling and turn
ing A bucking bronco could not have
equalled her gyrations then. 1t was
forward leap that dislodged Mompikl
and mere SIX inches saved Mabaks
life. Out came her horns, down went
her head, then back. vlciously and
dreadfully Before Mompiki could re-
gain his position he was impaled,
Caught six inches higher up, one horn
went in with a sickly sound just to
the left of his spine. through his upper
ribs and on into his heart.
For second his vicious worrying
snarls kept on. Then, like a bag of
meal he slunped off the Sables back
After qulverlng moment, he lay
still. Mabak flashed around, head
down this time, in her favorlte de-
fensive position. her horns between
her and her enemy. They dripped red
blood now - but the lion was still
For twenty minutes Mabak must
have stood like that, her own blood
pouring off her lacerated back. Then
she stood up. slowly and very stlff1y
She whistled softly - her first sound
since the fight began - and Shabane
came out of hiding. But he would not
enter that clearing So his mother
went to him and together they went
off into the bush without even back
ward glance. The lion was forgotten.
The crickets scraped harder than
ever. The moon - high overhead now
but still little slip of moon -
glinted down. Momplki's eyes did
not CLINT yellow back. Already they
we're turning dirty gray, A few
miserable and NANCY jackals and
hyenas gathered to see what this
novel kind of carrion would taste
like - Tomorrow the aasvogels would
come and see too