en last seen.

Then Billy covered herself with glory by seeing them first. She apprised
us of that fact with some excitement. We saw the long, yellow bodies of
two of them disappearing in the edge of the brush about three hundred
yards away. With a wild whoop we tore after them at a dead run.

Then began a wild ride. Do you remember Billy's remark about the nature
of the footing? Before long we closed in near enough to catch occasional
glimpses of the beasts, bounding easily along. At that moment B.'s horse
went down in a heap. None of us thought for a moment of pulling up. I
looked back to see B. getting up again, and thought I caught fragments
of encouraging-sounding language. Then my horse went down. I managed to
hold my rifle clear, and to cling to the reins. Did you ever try to
get on a somewhat demoralized horse in a frantic hurry, when all your
friends were getting farther away every minute, and so lessening your
chances of being in the fun? I began to understand perfectly B.'s
remarks of a moment before. However, on I scrambled, and soon overtook
the hunt.

We dodged in and out of bushes, and around and over holes. Every few
moments we would catch a glimpse of one of those silently bounding
lions, and then we would let out a yell. Also every few moments one
or the other of us would go down in a heap, and would scramble up and
curse, and remount hastily. Billy had better luck. She had no gun, and
belonged a little in the rear anyway, but was coming along game as a
badger for all that.

My own horse had the legs of the others quite easily, and for that
reason I was ahead far enough to see the magnificent sight of five lions
sideways on, all in a row, standing in the grass gazing at me with a
sort of calm and impersonal dignity. I wheeled my horse immediately so
as to be ready in case of a charge, and yelled to the others to hurry
up. While I sat there, they moved slowly off one after the other, so
that by the time the men had come, the lions had gone. We now had
no difficulty in running into them again. Once more my better animal
brought me to the lead, so that for the second time I drew up facing the
lions, and at about one hundred yards range. One by one they began to
leave as before, very leisurely and haughtily, until a single old maned
fellow remained. He, however, sat there, his great round head peering
over the top of the grass.

"Well," he seemed to say, "here I am, what do you intend to do about
it?