A TALE OF THREE LIONS
Page: 28

lion loosed his grip and sniffed at the fallen foe. Then he licked the
dead lion's eye, and next, with his fore-feet resting on the carcass,
sent up his own chant of victory, that went rolling and pealing down
the dark paths of the night. And at this point I interfered. Taking a
careful sight at the centre of his body, in order to give the largest
possible margin for error, I fired, and sent a .570 express bullet
right through him, and down he dropped dead upon the carcass of his
mighty foe.

"After that, fairly satisfied with our performances, we slept
peaceably till dawn, leaving Pharaoh to keep watch in case any more
lions should take it into their heads to come our way.

"When the sun was well up we arose, and went very cautiously--at least
Pharaoh and I did, for I would not allow Harry to come--to see if we
could find any trace of the wounded lioness. She had ceased roaring
immediately upon the arrival of the two lions, and had not made a
sound since, from which we concluded that she was probably dead. I was
armed with my express, while Pharaoh, in whose hands a rifle was
indeed a dangerous weapon, to his companions, had an axe. On our way
we stopped to look at the two dead lions. They were magnificent
animals, both of them, but their pelts were entirely spoiled by the
terrible mauling they had given to each other, which was a sad pity.

"In another minute we were following the blood spoor of the wounded
lioness into the bush, where she had taken refuge. This, I need hardly
say, we did with the utmost caution; indeed, I for one did not at all
like the job, and was only consoled by the reflection that it was
necessary, and that the bush was not thick. Well, we stood there,
keeping as far from the trees as possible, searching and looking
about, but no lioness could we see, though we saw plenty of blood.

"'She must have gone somewhere to die, Pharaoh,' I said in Zulu.

"'Yes, Inkoos,' he answered, 'she has certainly gone away.'

"Hardly were the words out of his mouth, when I heard a roar, and
starting round saw the lioness emerge from the very centre of a bush,
in which she had been curled up, just behind Pharaoh. Up she went on