Throughout The Entire Night The Lion Prowled Around
The Camp, Growling And Uttering His Peculiar Guttural Sigh.
Not one of
my people slept, as they declared he would bound into the camp and take
somebody unless they kept up the watch-fires and drove him away with
brands.
The next day before sunrise I called Hassan and Hadji Ali, whom
I lectured severely upon their cowardice on a former occasion, and
received their promise to follow me to death. I intrusted them with my
two Reillys No. 10, and with my little Fletcher in hand I determined to
spend the whole day in searching every thicket of the forest for lions,
as I felt convinced that the animal that had disturbed us during the
night was concealed somewhere within the neighboring jungle.
The whole day passed fruitlessly. I had crept through the thickest
thorns in vain; having abundance of meat, I had refused the most
tempting shots at buffaloes and large antelopes, as I had devoted myself
exclusively to lions. I was much disappointed, as the evening had
arrived without a shot having been fired, and as the sun had nearly set
I wandered slowly toward home. Passing through alternate open glades of
a few yards' width, hemmed in on all sides by thick jungle, I was
carelessly carrying my rifle upon my shoulder, as I pushed my way
through the opposing thorns, when a sudden roar, just before me, at once
brought the rifle upon full cock, and I saw a magnificent lion standing
in the middle of the glade, about ten yards from me.
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