We had two
Tokrooris with us, carrying spare rifles, and I felt sure that
the lions were within the bushes of dense nabbuk, which concealed
them as perfectly as though behind a closed curtain. We
approached within three or four yards of this effective screen,
when suddenly we heard the cracking of bones, as the lions
feasted in their den close to us; they would not show themselves,
nor was there any possibility of obtaining a shot; therefore,
after ascending the high bank, and waiting for some time in the
hope that one might emerge to drag away the exposed portion of
the buffalo, we returned to camp.
The aggageers had already returned from a reconnaissance of the
country, as they had started before daybreak in search of
elephants; they reported the fresh tracks of a herd, and they
begged me to lose no time in accompanying them, as the elephants
might retreat to a great distance. There was no need for this
advice; in a few minutes my horse Tetel was saddled, and my six
Tokrooris and Bacheet, with spare rifles, were in attendance.
Bacheet, who had so ingloriously failed in his first essay at Wat
el Negur, had been so laughed at by the girls of the village for
his want of pluck, that he had declared himself ready to face the
devil rather than the ridicule of the fair sex; and, to do him
justice, he subsequently became a first-rate lad in moments of
danger.
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