ion with fact; they danced round the white warrior,
and launched him to victory.

"Aha!" said Falcon, "I took the shine out of their lion, didn't I?"

"You did: and once there was a sculptor who showed a lion his marble
group, a man trampling a lion, extracting his tongue, and so on; but
report says it DID NOT CONVINCE THE LION."

"Why, no; a lion is not an ass. But, for your comfort, there ARE no
lions in this part of the world. They are myths. There were lions in
Africa. But now they are all at the Zoo. And I wish I was there too."

"In what character--of a discontented animal--with every blessing? They
would not take you in; too common in England. Hallo! this is something
new. What lots of bushes! We should not have much chance with a lion
here."

"There ARE no lions: it is not the Zoo," said Falcon; but he spurred on
faster.

The country, however, did not change its feature; bushes and little
acacias prevailed, and presently dark forms began to glide across at
intervals.

The travellers held their breath, and pushed on; but at last their
horses flagged; so they thought it best to stop and light a fire and
stand upon their guard.

They did so, and Falcon sat with his rifle cocked, while Staines boiled
coffee, and they drank it, and after two hours' halt, pushed on; and at
last the bushes got more scattered, and they were on the dreary plain
again. Falcon drew the rein, with a sigh of relief, and they walked
their horses side by side.

"Well, what has become of the lions?" said Falcon jauntily. He turned in
his saddle, and saw a large animal stealing behind them with its belly
to the very earth, and eyes hot coals; he uttered an eldrich screech,
fired both barrels, with no more aim than a baby, and spurred away,
yelling like a demon. The animal fled another way, in equal trepidation
at those tongues of flame and loud reports, and Christopher's horse
reared and plunged, and deposited him promptly on the sward; but he held
the bridle, mounted again, and rode after his companion. A stern chase
is a long chase; and for that or some other reason he could never catch
him again till sunrise. Being caught, he ignored the lioness, with cool
hauteur: he said he had ridden on to find comfortable quarters: and
craved thanks.

This was literally the only incident worth recording that the companions
met with in three hundred miles.

On the sixth day out, towards afternoon, they found by inquiring they
were near the d