FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   100   101   102   103   104   105   106   107   108   109   110   111   112   113   114   115   116   117   118   119   120   121   122   123   124  
125   126   127   128   129   130   131   132   133   134   135   136   137   138   139   140   141   142   143   144   145   146   147   148   149   >>   >|  
sound--so near that it caused both men to raise themselves on their elbows, Renshaw leisurely, Sellon quickly and with a start--echoed forth upon the night. The horses pricked up their ears and snorted and tugged violently at their (luckily for themselves) restraining _reims_, trembling in every limb. A dull red glow threw forward the razor-like edge of the cliff overhanging the camp. Silhouetted against this, looming blackly as though sculptured in bronze, stood the mighty form of a huge lion. Again that terrible roar pealed forth, booming and rumbling away in sullen echoes among the krantzes. Then the red moon arose over the head of the majestic beast, the grim Monarch of the Night roaring defiance against those who dared invade his desert domain. For a moment he stood there fully outlined, then vanished as though melting into empty air. "Lucky, I took the precaution of building a _schanz_--eh?" said Renshaw, quietly heaping fresh logs on to the fire. "By Jove! it is," acquiesced Sellon, a little overawed. CHAPTER TWENTY THREE. FOLLOWING THE CLUE. It takes a little time to get used to sleeping out in the open, and on the hard ground. The latter the novice is apt to find hard indeed. There is always that refractory lump or stone just under his hip-bone, and by the time he has removed this, or shifted his position, he only settles down to find two similar sources of affliction where there was but one before. If timid, he will think of snakes; if nervous, he will be momentarily imagining some cold creeping thing crawling over his ear or sneaking inside the legs of his trousers. Add to this the novelty of the situation and the hundred and one varying voices of the night, which combine to keep him awake, and it follows that however alluring to the embryo traveller may be the prospect of "camping out," the reality is less pleasant--till he gets used to it. Renshaw, remarking that their late formidable visitant needn't have wished them good night quite so loudly, rolled himself in a blanket, and in ten minutes was fast asleep. But Sellon, being new to this kind of thing, speedily fell a victim to each and all of the little inconveniences above detailed, and passed a most uncomfortable and restless night. The howling of the hyaenas, mingling with the shriller "yap" of the hunting jackal, sounded continuous--then just as he was dropping off into a doze, the loud "baugh! baugh!" of a troop of baboo
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   100   101   102   103   104   105   106   107   108   109   110   111   112   113   114   115   116   117   118   119   120   121   122   123   124  
125   126   127   128   129   130   131   132   133   134   135   136   137   138   139   140   141   142   143   144   145   146   147   148   149   >>   >|  



Top keywords:
Renshaw
 

Sellon

 

inside

 
sneaking
 

similar

 

crawling

 

trousers

 

voices

 

combine

 

affliction


varying

 
novelty
 

situation

 
hundred
 
creeping
 

removed

 

snakes

 

settles

 

nervous

 

sources


imagining

 

momentarily

 

position

 

shifted

 

inconveniences

 
detailed
 

passed

 

uncomfortable

 

victim

 

speedily


restless

 

howling

 
dropping
 

continuous

 

sounded

 

mingling

 

hyaenas

 

shriller

 

jackal

 

hunting


asleep
 
reality
 

pleasant

 

remarking

 

camping

 
prospect
 

alluring

 
embryo
 
traveller
 

formidable