s away. Strange to relate, MacGregor followed suit,
thrusting a clip of cartridges into the magazine of his rifle as he
ran. Wilmshurst, hampered by the cub, stood stock still, fascinated by
the awesome sight of the approaching lioness.

Ten yards in front of Wilmshurst stood Spofforth, swaying gently on his
toes, his bulky figure thrown slightly forward and his arms
outstretched.

"Run for it!" he exclaimed in a high-pitched, unnatural voice, but
without turning his head.

Wilmshurst disobeyed--for one thing he was unable to tear himself away;
his feet seemed rooted to the ground. For another, a sense of
camaraderie urged him to remain an impassive spectator of the impending
struggle between an unarmed man, who had voluntarily interposed his big
bulk between the hampered subaltern and the infuriated animal.

The lioness, roaring loudly, leapt. Spofforth closed just as her
forepaws touched the ground, and the next instant man and beast were
engaged in a terrible struggle.

The powerful officer clutched the lioness just below the jaws with both
hands, holding her in a vice-like grip. With his feet dug firmly, into
the ground he held, swaying to and fro but not giving an inch while the
cruel talons of the ferocious beast were lacerating his arms from
shoulder to wrist.

Exerting every ounce of strength Spofforth bore down, striving to
fracture the terrible jaws. Once the lioness succeeded in dealing him
a blow with her paw that, but for the protection afforded by his double
pith helmet would have brained the man. For a few seconds Spofforth
reeled, his head-gear fell to the ground, leaving his skull unprotected
should the lioness repeat the terrifically powerful stroke; yet not for
a moment did his grip release.

Through an eddying cloud of dust raised by the struggle Wilmshurst
watched the unequal conflict, until his will-power overcoming the
initial stages of hypnotic impotence, he threw the cub to the ground
and drew his knife.

With a sensation akin to that of a mild-tempered individual who essays
with his bare hands to separate two large and ferocious dogs engaged in
combat Wilmshurst edged towards the flank of the lioness with the
intention of hamstringing the tensioned sinews of her hind legs.

Before he could deliver the stroke Bela Moshi grasped his officer by
the shoulders and unceremoniously jerked him aside; then lifting a
rifle to his shoulders the Haussa sergeant pressed the trigger.

Dow