The Mission

by Frederick Marryat

  CHAPTER XXIV.

  Our travelers remained very quiet that day and the next. The horses hadsuffered so much, that they required two days of rest, and theythemselves were not sorry to be inactive after their fatiguing journeyover the desert. The cattle enjoyed the luxuriant pasture, and althoughthe tracks of the lions were discovered very near to them, yet, as theyhad plenty of fuel and attended themselves to the fires, they had notany visits from them during the night. The Hottentots had been out toreconnoiter, and found a profusion of game, in a large plain, about twomiles distant; and it was decided that they would rest where they werefor a day or two, if the game were not frightened away. The river hadbeen crossed by Swanevelt, who stated that there was a large herd ofelephants on the other side, and the tracks of the rhinoceros were to beseen on both sides of the river.

  On the third morning after their arrival at the Val, they set off,accompanied by the Hottentots, to the plain which they had spoken of;riding through magnificent groups of acacia or camelthorn trees, manyof which were covered with the enormous nests of the social grosbeaks.As they descended to the plain they perceived large herds of brindledgnoos, quaggas, and antelopes, covering the whole face of the country asfar as the eye could reach, moving about in masses to and fro, joiningeach other and separating, so that the whole plain seemed alive withthem.

  "Is not this splendid?" cried the Major. "Such a sight is worth all thetrouble and labor which we have undergone. What would they say inEngland, if they could but behold this scene?"

  "There must be thousands and thousands," said Alexander. "Tell me,Swinton, what beautiful animals are those of a purple color?"

  "They are called the purple sassabys," replied Swinton; "one of the mostelegant of the antelope tribe."

  "And those red and yellow out there?"

  "They are the harte beests. I wish to have male and female specimens ofboth, if I can."

  "See!" said the Major, "there is a fine flock of ostriches. We arepuzzled where to begin. Come, we have surveyed the scene long enough;now forward,--to change it."

  They rode down, and were soon within shot of the animals, and the riflesbegan their work. The Hottentots commenced firing from various points,and, alarmed by the report of the guns, the animals now fled away inevery direction, and the whole place was one cloud of dust. Ourtravelers put their horses to their speed, and soon came up with themagain, as their numbers impeded the animals in their flight. Every shottold, for it was hardly possible to miss; and the Hottentots whofollowed on foot, put those who were wounded out of their misery. Atlast the horses were too fatigued and too much out of wind to continuethe pursuit, and they reined up.

  "Well, Alexander, this has been sport, has it not?" said the Major.

  "Yes, a grand battue, on a grand scale, indeed."

  "There were three animals which you did not observe," said Swinton;"but it was impossible to get at them, they were so far off; but we musttry for them another time."

  "What were they?"

  "The elands, the largest of the antelope tribe," replied Swinton, "andthe best eating of them all. Sometimes they are nineteen hands high atthe chest, and will weigh nearly 2,000 lbs. It has the head of anantelope, but the body is more like that of an ox. It has magnificentstraight horns, but they are not dangerous. They are easily run down,for, generally speaking, they are very fat and incapable of muchexertion."

  "We will look out for them to-morrow," said the Major. "See how thevultures are hovering over us; they know there will be bones for them topick this night."

  "More than bones," replied Alexander; "for what can we do with so manycarcasses? There is provision for a month, if it would keep. What aprodigious variety of animals there appears to be in this country."

  "Yes, they are congregated here, because the country, from want of rain,may be considered as barren. But within eight or nine degrees oflatitude from the Cape, we find the largest and most minute of creation.We have the ostrich and the little creeper among the birds. Among thebeasts we have the elephant, weighing 4,000 lbs., and the black speckedmouse, weighing a quarter of an ounce. We have the giraffe, seventeenfeet high, and the little viverra, a sort of weasel, of three inches. Ibelieve there are thirty varieties of antelopes known and described;eighteen of them are found in this country, and there are the largestand smallest of the species; for we have the eland, and we have thepigmy antelope, which is not above six inches high. We see here also theintermediate links of many genera, such as the eland and the gnoo; andas we find the elephant, the rhinoceros, and Wilmot's friend, thehippopotamus, we certainly have the bulkiest animals in existence."

  Bremen now came up to say that they had discovered a rhinoceros close tothe river-side, concealed in the bushes underneath a clump of acacia.The Major and Alexander having declared their intention of immediatelygoing in pursuit, Swinton advised them to be cautious, as the charge ofa rhinoceros was a very awkward affair, if they did not get out of theway. They rode down to the clump of trees and bushes where the animalwas said to be hid, and, by the advice of Bremen, sent for the dogs toworry the animal out. Bremen, who was on foot, was desired by the Majorto take the horse which Omrah rode, that he might be more expeditious,and our travelers remained with a clear space of two hundred yardsbetween them and the bushes where the animal was concealed. TheHottentots had also followed them, and were ordered on no account tofire till they had taken their positions, and the dogs were sent in todrive the animal out.

  When Bremen was but a short distance from them with the dogs, Swintonadvised that they should dismount and take possession of a small clumpof trees which grew very close together, as they would be concealed fromthe animal. They called Omrah to take the horses, but he was not to beseen; so they gave them to one of the Hottentots, to lead them to somedistance out of harm's way.

  "The vision of the rhinoceros is so limited," observed Swinton, "that itis not difficult to get out of his way on his first charge; but at hissecond he is generally prepared for your maneuver. A ball in theshoulder is the most fatal. Look out, Bremen has turned in the dogs."The barking of the dogs, which commenced as soon as they entered thebushes, did not continue more than a minute, when a female rhinoceros ofthe black variety burst out of the thicket in pursuit of the retreatingdogs. Several shots were fired by the Hottentots, who were concealed indifferent quarters without effect; the animal rushing along and tearingup the ground with its horns, looking out for its enemies. At last itperceived a Hottentot, who showed himself from a bush near to where ourtravelers were concealed. The animal charged immediately, and incharging was brought down on its knees by a shot from Alexander. TheHottentots rushed out, regardless of Swinton's calling out to them tobe careful, as the animal was not dead, and had surrounded it within afew yards, when it rose again and fiercely charged Swanevelt, whonarrowly escaped. A shot from the Major put an end to its career, andthey then walked to where the animal lay, when a cry from Omrah, who wasstanding near the river, attracted their notice, and they perceived thatthe male rhinoceros, of whose presence they were not aware, had justburst out of the same covert, and was charging toward them.

  Every one immediately took to his heels; many of the Hottentots in theirfear dropping their muskets, and fortunately the distance they were fromthe covert gave them time to conceal themselves in the thickets beforethe animal had time to come up with them. A shot from Swinton turned theassailant, who now tore up the earth in his rage, looking everywhereround with its sharp flashing eye for a victim. At this moment, while itseemed hesitating and peering about, to the astonishment of the wholeparty, Omrah showed himself openly on the other side of the rhinoceros,waving his red handkerchief, which he had taken off his head. Therhinoceros, the moment that the boy caught his eye, rushed furiouslytoward him. "The boy's lost," cried Swinton; but hardly had the wordsgone from his mouth, when to their astonishment, the rhinocerosdisappeared, and Omrah stood capering and shouting with delight. Thefact was that Omrah, when he had left our travelers, had gone downtoward the river, and as he w
ent along had with his light weight passedover what he knew full well to be one of the deep pits dug by theBushmen to catch those animals. Having fully satisfied himself that itwas so, he had remained by the side of it, and when the rhinocerosrushed at him, had kept the pit between himself and the animal. Hisobject was to induce the animal to charge at him, which it did, and whenwithin four yards of the lad, had plunged into the pit dug for him. Thesuccess of Omrah's plan explained the whole matter at once, and ourtravelers hastened up to where the rhinoceros was impounded, and foundthat a large stake, fixed upright in the center of the pit, had impaledthe animal. A shot from the Major put an end to the fury and agony ofthe animal.

  "I never was more excited in my life; I thought the boy was mad andwanted to lose his life," said Alexander.

  "And so did I," replied Swinton; "and yet I ought to have known himbetter. It was admirably done; here we have an instance of thesuperiority of man endowed with reasoning power over brutes. Arhinoceros will destroy the elephant; the lion can make no impression onhim, and flies before him like a cat. He is, in fact, the most powerfulof all animals; he fears no enemy, not even man, when he is provoked orwounded; and yet he has fallen by the cleverness of that little monkeyof a Bushboy. I think, Major, we have done enough now, and may go backto the caravan."

  "Yes, I am well satisfied with our day's sport, and am not a littlehungry. We may now let the Hottentots bring home as much game as theycan. You have taken care to give directions about your specimens,Swinton?"

  "Yes, Bremen knows the animals I require, and is now after them. Omrah,run and tell that fellow to bring our horses here."

  "Swinton, can birds and beasts talk, or can they not?" said the Major."I ask that question because I am now looking at the enormous nests ofthe grosbeaks. It is a regular town, with some hundreds of houses. Thesebirds, as well as those sagacious animals, the beaver, the ant, and thebee, not to mention a variety of others, must have some way ofcommunicating their ideas."

  "That there is no doubt of," replied Swinton, laughing; "but still Ibelieve that man only is endowed with speech."

  "Well, we know that; but if not with speech, they must have some meansof communication which answers as well"

  "As far as their wants require it, no doubt," replied Swinton, "but towhat extent is hidden from us. Animals have instinct and reasoningpowers, but not reason."

  "Where is the difference?"

  "The reasoning powers are generally limited to their necessities; butwith animals who are the companions of man, they appear to be moreextended."

  "We have a grand supper to-night," said Alexander; "what shall I helpyou to--harte-beest, sassaby, or rhinoceros?"

  "Thank you," replied the Major, laughing; "I'll trouble you for a smallpiece of that rhinoceros steak--underdone, if you please."

  "How curious that would sound in Grosvenor Square."

  "Not if you shot the animals in Richmond Park," said Swinton.

  "Those rascally Hottentots will collect no fuel to-night if we do notmake them do it now," said the Major. "If they once begin to stuff itwill be all over with them."

  "Very true; we had better set them about it before the feast begins.Call Bremen, Omrah."

  "Having given their directions, our party finished their supper, andthen Alexander asked Swinton whether he had ever known any seriousaccidents resulting from the hunting of the rhinoceros.

  "Yes," replied Swinton; "I once was witness to the death of a nativechief."

  "Then pray tell us the story," said the Major. "By hearing how otherpeople have suffered, we learn how to take care of ourselves."

  "Before I do so, I will mention what was told me by a Namaqua chiefabout a lion; I am reminded of it by the Major's observations as to themeans animals have of communicating with each other. Once when I wastraveling in Namaqua-land, I observed a spot which was imprinted with atleast twenty spoors or marks of a lion's paw; and as I pointed them outa Namaqua chief told me that a lion had been practicing his leap. Ondemanding an explanation, he said that if a lion sprang at an animal,and missed it by leaping short, he would always go back to where hesprang from, and practice the leap so as to be successful on anotheroccasion; and he then related to me the following anecdote, stating thathe was an eye-witness to the incident:

  "'I was passing near the end of a craggy hill from which jutted out asmooth rock of from ten to twelve feet high, when I perceived a numberof zebras galloping round it, which they were obliged to do, as the rockbeyond was quite steep. A lion was creeping toward the rock to catch themale zebra, which brought up the rear of the herd. The lion sprang andmissed his mark; he fell short, with only his head over the edge of therock, and the zebra galloped away, switching his tail in the air.Although the object of his pursuit was gone, the lion tried the leap onthe rock a second and a third time, till he succeeded. During this twomore lions came up and joined the first lion. They seemed to be talking,for they roared a great deal to each other; and then the first lion ledthem round the rock again and again. Then he made another grand leap, toshow them what he and they must do another time.' The chief added, 'Theyevidently were talking to each other, but I could not understand a wordof what they said, although they talked loud enough; but I thought itwas as well to be off, or they might have some talk about me.'"

  "Well, they certainly do not whisper," said the Major, laughing. "Thankyou for that story, Swinton, and now for the rhinoceros hunt."

  "I was once out hunting with a Griqua, of the name of Henrick, and twoor three other men; we had wounded a springbok, and were following itstrack, when we came upon the footing of a rhinoceros, and shortlyafterward we saw a large black male in the bush."

  "You mention a black rhinoceros. Is there any other?"

  "Yes, there is a white rhinoceros, as it is called, larger than theblack, but not so dangerous. It is, in fact, a stupid sort of animal.The black rhinoceros, as you are aware, is very fierce. Well, tocontinue: Henrick slipped down behind a bush, fired, and wounded theanimal severely in the foreleg. The rhinoceros charged, we all fled, andthe animal, singling out one of our men, closely pursued him; but theman, stopping short, while the horn of the rhinoceros plowed up theground at his heels, dexterously jumped on one side. The rhinocerosmissed him and passed on in full speed, and before the brute couldrecover himself and change his course, the whole of us had climbed upinto trees. The rhinoceros, limping with his wound, went round andround, trying to find us out by the scent, but he tried in vain. Atlast, one of the men, who had only an assaguay, said, 'Well, how longare we going to stay here? Why don't you shoot?'

  "'Well,' said Henrick, 'if you are so anxious to shoot, you may if youplease. Here is my powder-and-shot belt, and my gun lies under the tree.The man immediately descended from the tree, loaded the gun, andapproaching the rhinoceros he fired and wounded it severely in the jaw.The animal was stunned, and dropped on the spot. Thinking that it wasdead, we all descended fearlessly and collected round it; and the manwho had fired was very proud, and was giving directions to the others,when of a sudden the animal began to recover, and kicked with his hindlegs. Henrick told us all to run for our lives, and set us the example.The rhinoceros started up again, and singling out the unfortunate manwho had got down and fired at it, roaring and snorting with rage,thundered after him.

  "The man, perceiving that he could not outrun the beast, tried the sameplan as the other hunter did when the rhinoceros charged him: stoppingshort, he jumped on one side, that the animal might pass him; but thebrute was not to be balked a second time; he caught the man on his hornunder the left thigh, and cutting it open as if it had been done with anax, tossed him a dozen yards up in the air. The poor fellow fell facingthe rhinoceros, with his legs spread; the beast rushed at him again, andripped up his body from his stomach to almost his throat, and againtossed him in the air. Again he fell heavily to the ground. Therhinoceros watched his fall, and running up to him trod upon him andpounded him to a mummy. After this horrible tragedy, the beast limpedoff into a bush. Henrick th
en crept up to the bush; the animal dashedout again, and would certainly have killed another man if a dog had notturned it. In turning short round upon the dog, the bone of itsfore-leg, which had been half broken through by Henrick's first shot,snapped in two, and it fell, unable to recover itself, and was then shotdead."

  "A very awkward customer, at all events," observed the Major. "I presumea leaden bullet would not enter?"

  "No, it would flatten against most parts of his body. By the by, I sawan instance of a rhinoceros having been destroyed by that cowardly brutethe hyena."

  "Indeed!"

  "Yes, patience and perseverance on the hyena's part effected the work.The rhinoceros takes a long while to turn round, and the hyena attackedhim behind, biting him with his powerful jaws above the joint of thehind leg, and continued so to do, till he had severed all the muscles,and the animal, forced from pain to lie down, was devoured as you maysay alive from behind; the hyena still tearing at the same quarter,until he arrived at the vital parts. By the track which was marked bythe blood of the rhinoceros, the hyena must have followed the animal formany miles, until the rhinoceros was in such pain that it could proceedno further.--But if you are to hunt to-morrow at daybreak, it is time togo to sleep; so good-night."

  At daybreak the next morning, they took a hasty meal, and started againfor the plain. Swinton, having to prepare his specimens, did notaccompany them. There was a heavy fog on the plain when they arrived atit, and they waited for a short time, skirting the south side of it,with the view of drawing the animals toward the encampment. At last thefog vanished, and discovered the whole country, as before, covered withevery variety of wild animals. But as their object was to obtain theeland antelope, they remained stationary for some time, seeking forthose animals among the varieties which were scattered in alldirections. At last Omrah, whose eyes were far keener than even theHottentots', pointed out three at a distance, under a large acaciathorn. They immediately rode at a trot in that direction, and thevarious herds of quaggas, gnoos, and antelopes scoured away before them;and so numerous were they, and such was the clattering of hoofs, thatyou might have imagined that it was a heavy charge of cavalry. Theobjects of their pursuit remained quiet until they were within threehundred yards of them, and then they set off at a speed, notwithstandingtheir heavy and unwieldy appearance, which for a short time completelydistanced the horses. But this speed could not be continued, and theMajor and Alexander soon found themselves rapidly coming up. The pooranimals exerted themselves in vain; their sleek coats first turned to ablue color, and then white with foam and perspiration, and at last theywere beaten to a stand-still, and were brought down by the rifles of ourtravelers, who then dismounted their horses, and walked up to thequarry.

  "What magnificent animals!" exclaimed Alexander.

  "They are enormous, certainly," said the Major.

  "Look at the beautiful dying eye of that noble beast. Is it notspeaking?"

  "Yes, imploring for mercy, as it were, poor creature."

  "Well, these three beasts, that they say are such good eating, weighmore than fifty antelopes."

  "More than fifty springboks, I grant. Well, what shall we do now?"

  "Let our horses get their wind again, and then we will see if we canfall in with some new game."

  "I saw two or three antelopes, of a very different sort from thesassabys and harte-beests, toward that rising ground. We will go thatway as soon as the Hottentots come up and take charge of our game."

  "Does Swinton want to preserve one of these creatures?"

  "I believe not, they are so very bulky. He says we shall find plenty aswe go on, and that he will not encumber the wagons with a skin until weleave the Val River, and turn homeward. Now, Bremen and Omrah, come withus."

  The Major and Alexander then turned their horses' heads, and rode slowlytoward the hill which they had noticed, and the antelopes which theMajor had observed were now seen among the bushes which crowned thehill. Bremen said that he did not know the animals, and the Major wasmost anxious to obtain one to surprise Swinton with. As soon as theycame within two hundred yards of the bushes on the other side of whichthe antelopes were seen, the Major gave his horse to Omrah and advancedalone very cautiously, that he might bring one down with his rifle. Hegained the bushes without alarming the animals, and the party leftbehind were anxiously watching his motions, expecting him every momentto fire, when the Major suddenly turned round and came back at a hurriedpace.

  "What is the matter?" said Alexander.

  "Matter enough to stop my growth for all my life," replied the Major."If ever my heart was in my mouth, it was just now. I was advancingsoftly, and step by step, toward the antelopes, and was just raising myrifle to fire, when I heard something flapping the ground three or fouryards before me. I looked down, and it was the tail of a lioness, whichfortunately was so busy watching the antelopes with her head the otherway, that she did not perceive my being near her; whereupon I beat aretreat, as you have witnessed."

  "Well, what shall we do now?"

  "Wait a little till I have recovered my nerves," said the Major, "andthen I'll be revenged upon her. Swinton is not here to preach prudence,and have a lion-hunt I will."

  "With all my heart," replied Alexander. "Bremen, we are going to attackthe lioness."

  "Yes, sir," said Bremen; "then we had better follow Cape fashion. Wewill back the horses toward her, and Omrah will hold them while we willattack her. I think one only had better fire, so we keep two guns inreserve."

  "You are right, Bremen," said Alexander. "Then you and I will reserveour fire, and the Major shall try his rifle upon her."

  With some difficulty the horses were backed toward the bush, until theMajor could again distinguish where the lioness lay, at about sixtypaces' distance. The animal appeared still occupied with the game infront of her, watching her opportunity to spring, for her tail andhind-quarters were toward them. The Major fired, and the animal boundedoff with a loud roar; while the antelopes flew away like the wind. Theroar of the lioness was answered by a deep growl from another part ofthe bush, and immediately afterward a lion bolted out, and bounded fromthe bushes across the plain, to a small mimosa grove about a quarter ofa mile off.

  "What a splendid animal!" said Alexander; "look at his black mane, italmost sweeps the ground."

  "We must have him," cried the Major, jumping on his horse.

  Alexander, Bremen, and Omrah did the same, and they followed the lion,which stood at bay under the mimosas, measuring the strength of theparty, and facing them in a most noble and imposing manner. It appeared,however, that he did not like their appearance, or was not satisfiedwith his own position, for as they advanced he retreated at a slow pace,and took up his position on the summit of a stony hill close by, thefront of which was thickly dotted with low thorn-bushes. Thethorn-bushes extended about 200 yards from where the lion stood,disdainfully surveying the party as they approached toward him, andappearing, with a conscious pride in his own powers, to dare them toapproach him.

  They dismounted from their horses as soon as they arrived at thethorn-bushes, and the Major fired. The rifle-ball struck the rock closeto the lion, who replied with an angry growl. The Major then took thegun from Omrah and fired, and again the ball struck close to theanimal's feet. The lion now shook his mane, gave another angry roar; andby the glistening of his eyes, and the impatient switching of his tail,it was evident that he would soon become the attacking party.

  "Load both your guns again," said Alexander, "and then let me have ashot, Major."

  As soon as the Major's guns were loaded, Alexander took aim and fired.The shot broke the lion's fore-leg, which he raised up with a voice ofthunder, and made a spring from the rock toward where our party stood.

  "Steady now," cried the Major to Bremen, at the same time handing hisspare rifle to Alexander.

  The rush of the angry animal was heard through the bushes advancingnearer and nearer; and they all stood prepared for the encounter. Atlast out the animal sprang, h
is mane bristling on end, his tail straightout, and his eyeballs flashing rage and vengeance. He came down upon thehind-quarters of one of the horses, which immediately started off,overthrowing and dragging Omrah to some distance. One of the lion's legsbeing broken, had occasioned the animal to roll off on the side of thehorse, and he now remained on the ground ready for a second spring, whenhe received a shot through the back from Bremen, who stood behind him.The lion, with another dreadful roar, attempted to spring upon theMajor, who was ready with his rifle to receive him; but the shot fromBremen had passed through his spine and paralyzed his hind-quarters, andhe made the attempt in vain, a second and a third time throwing hisfore-quarters up in the air, and then falling down again, when a bulletfrom the Major passed through his brain. The noble beast sunk down,gnawing the ground and tearing it with the claws of the leg which hadnot been wounded, and then, in a few seconds, breathed his last.

  "I am glad that is over, Alexander," said the Major; "it was almost tooexciting to be pleasant."

  "It was very awful for the time, I must acknowledge," replied Alexander."What an enormous brute! I think I never saw such a magnificent skin.

  "It is yours by the laws of war," said the Major.

  "Nay," replied Alexander, "it was you that gave him his _coup de grace_"

  "Yes, but if you had not broken his leg, he might have given some of usour _coup de grace_. No, no, the skin is yours. Now the horses are off,and we can not send for the Hottentots. They have got rid of Omrah, whois coming back with his shirt torn into tatters."

  "The men will catch the horses and bring them here, depend upon it,sir," said Bremen, "and then they can take off the skin."

  "Well, if I am to have the lion's skin, I must have that of the lionessalso, Major; so we must finish our day's hunting with forcing her tojoin her mate."

  "Very good, with all my heart."

  "Better wait till the men come with the horses, sir," said Bremen;"three guns are too few to attack a lion--very great danger indeed."

  "Bremen is right, Alexander; we must not run such a risk again. Dependupon it, if the animal's leg had not been broken, we should not have hadso easy a conquest. Let us sit down quietly till the men come up."

  In about half an hour, as Bremen had conjectured, the Hottentots,perceiving the horses loose, and suspecting that something had happened,went in chase of them, and as soon as they had succeeded in catchingthem, brought them in the direction to which they had seen our travelersride. They were not a little astonished at so small a party havingventured to attack a lion, and gladly prepared for the attack of thelioness. Three of the dogs having accompanied them, it was decided thatthey should be put into the bushes where the lioness was lying when theMajor fired at her, so as to discover where she now was; and leaving thelion for the present, they all set off for the first jungle.

  The dogs could not find the lioness in the bushes, and it was evidentthat she had retreated to some other place; and Swanevelt, who was anold lion-hunter, gave his opinion that she would be found in thedirection near to where the lion was killed. They went therefore in thatdirection, and found that she was in the clump of mimosas to which thelion had first retreated. The previous arrangement of backing the horsestoward where she lay was attempted, but the animals had been too muchfrightened in the morning by the lion's attack, to be persuaded. Theyreared and plunged in such a manner as to be with difficulty preventedfrom breaking loose; it was therefore necessary to abandon that plan,and trust to themselves and their numbers. The clump of trees wassurrounded by the party, and the dogs encouraged to go in, which theydid, every now and then rushing back from the paws of the lioness. TheHottentots now fired into the clump at random, and their volleys wereanswered by the loud roars of the animal, which would not, however, showherself, and half an hour was passed away in this manner.

  At last she was perceived at one side of the jungle, by Swanevelt, whofired with effect, for the animal gave a loud roar, and then boundedout, not attempting to rush upon any person, but to make her escape fromher assailants. A volley was fired at her, and one shot took effect, forshe fell with her head to the ground, and tumbled right over; butimmediately after she recovered herself, and made off for the busheswhere she had been first discovered.

  "She was hit hard that time, at all events," said the Major.

  "Yes, sir," said Bremen, "that was her deathshot, I should think; butshe is not dead yet, and may give us a great deal of trouble."

  They followed her as fast as they could on foot, and the dogs were soonupon her again; the animal continued to roar, and always from the samespot; so that it was evident she was severely wounded. Alexander and theMajor reserved their fire, and approached to where the dogs were baying,not twenty yards from the jungle. Another roar was given, and suddenlythe body of the lioness rushed through the air, right in the directionwhere they stood; she passed, however, between them, and when shereached the ground, she fell on her side, quite dead. It was her lastexpiring effort, and she died in the attempt. Alexander and the Major,who were both ready to fire, lowered their rifles when they perceivedthat she was dead.

  "Well," said the Major, "I will say that when I first saw her tail, Iwas more frightened than I was just now, when she made the spring; I wasso taken by surprise."

  "I don't doubt it. She is a very large animal, and will make a handsomecompanion to the lion. If we live and do well, and get home to Englandagain, I will have her stuffed along with him, and put them in the samecase."

  "I trust you will, and that I shall come and see them," replied theMajor.

  "I am sure I do, from my heart, my good fellow. I am very much pleasedat our having killed both these beasts, without Swinton being with us,as he would have been persuading us to leave them alone."

  "And he would have done very right," replied the Major. "We are twonaughty boys, and shall be well scolded when we go back."

  "Which I vote we do now. I think we have done quite enough for to-day."

  "Yes, indeed," replied the Major, mounting his horse; "enough to talk ofall our lives. Now let us gallop home, and say nothing about havingkilled the lions until the Hottentots bring them to the caravan."