ding fast to his gun, however, like a true hunter, and rushed towards
the wagon, where he found all the Caffres who could not get inside
sticking on the outside, as Pearson had said, like monkeys. There was
literally no room for more, but Tom cared not for that. He seized legs,
arms, and hair indiscriminately, and in another moment was on the top of
the living mass. He had leaped very smartly to this point of vantage,
nevertheless he found Jumbo there before him, chattering worse than
ever! The major and and Wilkins came up breathless next moment,
clambered halfway up, slipped, and fell to the ground with a united
roar; but making a second attempt, they succeeded in getting up.
Wilkins at once presented in the direction of the lions and again fired.
Whether any of them fell is a matter of dispute, but certain it is that
Wilkins fell, for the recoil of the gun knocked him back, his footing
being insecure, and he went down on the top of a tent which had been
pitched on the other side of the wagon, and broke the pole of it. After
this several more shots were fired, apparently without success. While
they were reloading a lion leaped on a goat, which was tethered to the
grass-hut, and carried it away before any one could fire. Not daring to
descend from their places of security, there the whole party sat in the
cold during the remainder of that night, listening to the growling of
the lions as they feasted on their prey. It was not till grey dawn
appeared that the enemy beat a retreat, and allowed the shivering
travellers to get once more between the blankets. They had not lain
long, however, when a double shot aroused them all, and they rushed out
to find that Mafuta had killed a lioness! She was a splendid creature,
and had succumbed to a bullet sent through her ribs. It was found on
examination that another ball had hit her just behind the head, and
travelling along the spine, had stuck near the root of the tail.

"Me no hab fire at head," said Mafuta, with a disappointed look. "Me
hit him in ribs wid wan bar'l, an' miss him wid tother."

"What is that you say?" cried Tom Brown examining the bullet-hole; "ha!
I claim that lioness, because I fired at her head last night, and there
you have the bullet-hole."

"Cut out the ball and see," said Hicks, drawing his knife.

When the ball was extracted it was indeed found to have been fired from
Tom's gun, so, according to sporting law in that region, which ordains
t