Page:Hunting and trapping stories; a book for boys (IA huntingtrappings00pric).pdf/47

 Its huge muscles stand out like cords, while its fur has a satiny gloss which is never seen on the caged animal.

An engineer who had but recently arrived in Uganda, in Central Africa, knew nothing of the lion or its habits except what he had picked up from his friends and his native servants. He made it a daily custom to walk towards a mound after the evening meal was over in the camp, to watch the sun go down. Darkness soon spreads over the sky in the tropics.

On the night in question it was not many minutes before the camp fires shone out clearly. Suddenly the sound of distant rumbling reached his ears. In an instant he knew that for the first time in his life he was listening to the roar of a lion. The whole air seemed to vibrate, and all around him when silence reigned the air seemed heavy until the roar broke out again.

The engineer heard a step behind him, and on turning his head he found his trusty body servant fully armed. The native, who was an experienced hunter, knew that his master had gone out without his rifle and that he might be in danger at any minute. "Let us lie down," said the native, "and we shall see the king. May be you will get a shot at him." The pair concealed themselves near a rock and waited. The roar broke out again, coming closer and closer all the time. Suddenly one roar louder than all the others, ended in a sort of a whine. The native knew that the lion had 'winded' the dreaded 'man smell.'

After a silence of many minutes broken only by the sound of some dry twigs as if being trodden on by a soft but heavy footed creature, the engineer poised his rifle across a rock ready for instant use. The silence was terrible, and the man felt as though he was surrounded by creeping lions. The play of the moonbeams among the shadows seemed to cause them to take shapes, all having a tail and four legs. After a moment or two the native gripped his master's wrist. The man's eyes followed those of his servant just in time to see a lion step out into the moonlight. The brute knew that it was close to its enemies for it was sniffing suspiciously. The engineer steadied his nerves and moved his rifle into position. The barrel glanced in the moonlight, and the lion seeing it crouched without a sound. Its muscles became rigid and ready for any movement. The engineer got a good sight right between the creature's eyes and when the native whispered "Now" the rifle rang out. Before the smoke had cleared they were both rolled over by the lion as it sprang past them. They scrambled to their feet as quickly as they could. When the dust and smoke had cleared away they beheld the lion coughing miserably. The bullet had gone low and had passed through