When They Reached Kimaa, Which
Is About Two Hundred And Fifty Miles From Mombasa,
They Were Told That The Man-
Eater had been seen
close to the station only a short time before
their train arrived, so they at once
Made up
their minds to remain there for the night and
endeavour to shoot him. Ryall's carriage was
accordingly detached from the train and shunted
into a siding close to the station, where, owing
to the unfinished state of the line, it did not
stand perfectly level, but had a pronounced list
to one side. In the afternoon the three friends
went out to look for the lion, but, finding no
traces of him whatever, they returned to the
carriage for dinner. Afterwards they all sat
up on guard for some time; but the only
noticeable thing they saw was what they took to
be two very bright and steady glow-worms.
After-events proved that these could have been nothing
else than the eyes of the man-eater steadily
watching them all the time and studying their every
movement. The hour now growing late, and there
being apparently no sign of the lion, Ryall
persuaded his two friends to lie down, while he
kept the first watch. Huebner occupied the high
berth over the table on the one side of the
carriage, the only other berth being on the opposite
side of the compartment and lower down. This
Ryall offered to Parenti, who declined it, saying
that he would be quite comfortable on the floor
and he accordingly lay down to sleep, with his
feet towards the sliding door which gave admission
the carriage.
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