ortunately the lion turned at that moment to go back into the thicket,
and the other shot had no effect but to call forth a furious roar and
hasten his flight. The untrustworthy gun had been borrowed for the
occasion, and after this the Colonel determined to rely on his own
weapon.

The ass lay still untouched. A platform twelve feet high was erected on
poles close to the carcase, and on this the Colonel took up his position
at sunset. The twilight is very short on the equator, and the night soon
grows dark when there is no moon. The nights in Africa's jungles are
silent with an evil-foreboding and awesome silence, which conceals so
many ambushes and costs so many lives. The inhabitants of the jungle may
expect an ambush at any moment. The lonely Colonel waited, gripping his
rifle hard. He relates himself that he felt more and more anxious as
time went on. He knew that the lion would come to feed on the ass, for
no cry of distress was heard from the adjacent camps.

Hist! that sounds like a small twig breaking under a weight. Now it
sounds like a large body crushing through the bushes. Then all is quiet
again. No, a deep breath, a sure sign of hunger, betrays the proximity
of the monster. A terrible roar breaks the stillness of the night. The
lion has perceived the presence of a man. Will he fly? No, far from it,
he scorns the ass and makes for the Colonel. For two hours he prowls
about the platform in gradually diminishing circles. Now the lion has
matured his plan of attack, and goes straight towards the platform for
the decisive spring. The animal is just perceptible against the sandy
ground. When he is quite close the first shot thunders through the
night, the lion utters a frightened roar and plunges into the nearest
bushes. He writhes, and bellows, and moans, but the sounds grow weaker,
till after a few long-drawn breaths all is quiet again. The first
man-eater has met his fate.

Before the dawn of day the workmen came out with trumpets and drums,
and, with shouts of rejoicing, carried the lion-killer round the dead
animal. The other lion continued his visits, and when he too bit the
dust a short time after, the men could quietly resume their work on the
railway, and the Colonel, who had freed the neighbourhood from a scourge
that had troubled it for nine months, became a general hero. The foreman
composed a grand song in his honour, and presented a valuable
testimonial from all the men.

One day he dined with