Part 21 (2/2)
Venning moved round the rock, and Mr Hume slowly followed He stopped awhile to listen to the incessant growling
”You've hit him, but not, I think, mortally; anye'll leave him, if he will leave us Move on towards the ca; but it required an effort not to leam of the fire
Mr Hume followed sloith his head over his shoulder, towards the place where the growling cah of relief
”Thank God Now tell us what happened,started violently, for just then fro call; and no sooner had it ceased than the ground shook to a terrific roar
”The lion answers the lioness,” said the chief, calmly
”Throw a little wood on the fire, Muata Now,told his story, and Compton listened with intense excite calmly, with set purpose He had in his experience seen the effect of a terrible shock, in the complete breakdown of the victim, and, personally, he had known one man die from the shock to his system caused exactly by the sudden and unexpected appearance of a lion at night He kept Venning's thoughts off thelion until dahen all hands prepared for the hunt
”If you hit hiuess it will be a differentlooked into the hunter's calainst which he had crouched, and pointed to the deep scars round by the sharp claws as the lion had stopped his charge and wheeled
Compton measured the distance from the rock to the claw-marks
”Fifteen feet! By Jove! it was a narrow squeak I would have yelled like fits”
”I did yell”
Muata pointed to the ground
”Blood spoor, eh? You did hit him Put the jackal on the track, chief,” said Mr Huround, stared sharply around, then peered up into his ue ”Follow the great one, O little friend The trail is laid; the great one has sought out a ry and sore in the shade Search and find”
The jackal looked intently into the chiefs face, sniffed at the ground, ran forward a few yards, stopped, sniffed again with lifted rass was pressed down, threw up his head with eyes half closed, then ran doards the river, stopping on the bank to look back
”That is where he joined hisThat is the round pad of the lion; just note and compare it with the pads of the lioness over there Just look, and read the writing”
The two boys looked at the round on the edge of the water
”They entered the river side by side,” they said
”That is plain; but the writing tells another story See, this footprint here is faint--very faint, eh? He did not rest his weight on his left fore-foot Why, eh?”
”Because the bullet struck the left front leg,” they both said
”They learn the signs, Muata They will be hunters yet Tell them if the lion be hard hit, chief”
Muata waded into the river, which reached to his ar on the further shore They undressed, and waded through to hireat ones careat one was not sore hurt, for he ca all his feet to swim”