e. 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 to
her hind-legs, and as she did so I noticed that one of her fore-paws was
broken near the shoulder, for it hung limply down. Up she went, towering
right over Pharaoh's head, as she did so lifting her uninjured paw to
strike him to the earth. And then, before I could get my rifle round or
do anything to avert the oncoming catastrophe