er. We
spent a couple of hours of fruitless stalking and then were obliged to
hurry back to town in order to be at the hotel when the tiffin bell
rang.

I had not yet secured a Thompson's gazelle, so we stopped and each of us
shot one on our way to the road. Then we returned to town. People along
the streets regarded us with surprised interest, for there were two
gazelles hanging out of the carriage and our four rifles gave the
vehicle an incongruously warlike aspect.

[Drawing: _Shooting Wildebeest (Cross Marks Location of Wildebeest,
Outward Bound)_]

The next morning at seven o'clock we were again in our carriage. We
drove out to the same place and at a few minutes after eight we were
amazed to see a wild dog rise from the grass and look at us. We hastily
jumped out of the carriage and walked toward him. In a moment a number
of others rose from the grass, until we saw seventeen of them. This
animal is seldom seen by sportsmen, and I believe it is considered quite
rare. In four months only one of our party had previously seen any.
Sometimes they savagely attack human beings, and when they do their
attack is fierce and hard to repel. They watched us narrowly as we
approached them and then moved slowly away. They seemed neither afraid
nor ferocious.

We each shot and missed. The pack split, and Stephenson followed one
little bunch while I followed another. My course led me toward a
shallow, rock-strewn nullah, and once or twice I fired again at the wild
dogs. But I couldn't hit them. There was nothing remarkable in my
failure to make a good shot, but Stephenson, who is a celebrated rifle
shot, seemed to be equally unfortunate in his work. He was some distance
away and his bullets would not go where he wanted them to go.

Suddenly my attention was riveted upon three forms that walked slowly
out of the nullah and climbed the slope on the other side, about three
hundred and fifty yards away. I was transfixed with amazement and could
hardly believe my eyes.

They were lions!

One was a female and the other two immense males. They were walking
slowly, and once or twice they stopped to look back at me. Then they
resumed their stately retreat.

As soon as I recovered from my astonishment I shouted to Stephenson, who
had been lured far away by the wild dogs.

"_Simba!_" I yelled, pointing to the three lions.

He seemed not to comprehend, and I saw him reluctantly turn from the
dogs and fix his glasses upon the dir