With these in my hand, I went to the pile of wood. I tried
to light it. At last I set it on fire in one place. I was then moving
round to another, when I saw at about twenty paces off a dark object
creeping slowly towards me. On it came; and while blowing away at the
wood to cause it to ignite, I began to distinguish the outlines of a
huge lion. In a few seconds the savage monster might be upon me.
Already he was near enough, I thought, to make his spring with fatal
effect. I knew that my chief safety would depend on the fire blazing up
quickly. Taking the torch, therefore, and mustering all the nerve I
possessed, I tried to light the pile at another spot between the two
which were already beginning to burn, though feebly. Now I bent down
and blew, now looked up towards the lion. To my horror, I saw him
crouching down, and slowly creeping towards me. I knew he was doing so
preparatory to making his tremendous spring. Just then a breeze fanned
my cheek. It came stronger and stronger, and up blazed the fire. The
lion stopped. Giving a stir to the fire as I passed along it, I rushed
back to my hut and seized my gun. As the fire blazed up the monster
gave a tremendous roar of rage and disappointment, but still held his
ground. The sound awoke Natty, who asked, in a trembling voice, what
was the matter. "Remain quiet," I answered. "We have an unwelcome
visitor, but I hope to drive him away." Again the lion roared and
lashed his tail, but he could not bring himself to dash through the
fire, though he must have seen me moving about on the other side of it.
I stood up with my gun, which I had loaded with a bullet, hoping to hit
him should he make a spring. Still he did not move; and remembering the
effects of my shouts the night before, I suddenly rushed towards the
fire, kicking it about, so as to make the flames rise up more briskly
than before, and at the same time shouting out at the top of my voice.
The lion roared in return. The louder he roared, the more wildly I
shouted and shrieked; and then, seizing a number of burning sticks, I
sprang over the fire towards him. The effect was satisfactory, for,
turning round, away he bounded into the darkness, whilst I shouted out,
"Victory! victory!" I had heard that if lions are thus met by a bold
front, they often prove cowardly; and I hoped, therefore, that my
visitor would not return. I now made up the fire, and went back to
Natty. I found him trembling