He Was Lying At Full Length On
His Side, And When I Saw Him At Close Quarters I
Was More Delighted Than I Can Tell, For He Was
Indeed A Very Fine Specimen.
For a moment or
two I stood with the group of natives, admiring
him.
He still breathed regularly, as his flanks
heaved with each respiration; but as he lay
absolutely still with all the men jabbering within
a yard of him, I assumed that he was on the
point of death and unable to rise. Possessed
with this belief, I very foolishly allowed my
curiosity to run away with my caution, and
stepped round to have a look at his head. The
moment I came into his view, however, he
suddenly became possessed of a diabolical ferocity.
With a great roar he sprang to his feet, as if he
were quite unhurt; his eyes blazed with fury,
and his lips were drawn well back, exposing
his tusks and teeth in a way I hope never to
witness again. When this perilous situation so
unexpectedly developed itself, I was not more
than three paces away from him.
The instant the lion rose, all the men fled as
if the Evil One himself were after them, and
made for the nearest trees - with one exception,
for as I took a step backwards, keeping my eye
on the infuriated animal, I almost trod on Roshan
Khan, who had still remained close behind me.
Fortunately for me, I had approached the lion's
head with my rifle ready, and as I stepped back
I fired. The impact of the .303 bullet threw
him back on his haunches just as he was in the
act of springing, but in an instant he was up
again and coming for me so quickly that I had
not even time to raise my rifle to my shoulder,
but fired point blank at him from my hip, delaying
him for a second or so as before. He was up
again like lightning, and again at the muzzle
of my rifle; and this time I thought that nothing
on earth could save me, as I was almost within
his clutches. Help came from an unexpected
and unconscious quarter, for just at this critical
moment Roshan Khan seemed all at once to
realise the danger of the situation, and suddenly
fled for his life, screaming and shrieking with all
his might. Beyond all question this movement
saved me, for the sight of something darting away
from him diverted the lion's attention from me,
and following his natural instinct, he gave chase
instead to the yelling fugitive.
Roshan Khan having thus unwittingly rescued
me from my perilous position, it now became my
turn to do all I could to save him, if this were
possible. In far less time than it takes to tell the
story, I had swung round after the pursuing lion,
levelled my rifle and fired; but whether because
of the speed at which he was going, or because
of my over-anxiety to save my "boy", I missed
him completely, and saw the bullet raise the
dust at the heels of a flying Masai.
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