, all had their effect on me, and from a
condition of strained expectancy I gradually fell into a dreamy mood
which harmonised well with my surroundings. Suddenly I was startled out
of my reverie by the snapping of a twig: and, straining my ears for a
further sound, I fancied I could hear the rustling of a large body
forcing its way through the bush. "The man-eater," I thought to myself;
"surely to-night my luck will change and I shall bag one of the
brutes." Profound silence again succeeded; I sat on my eyrie like a
statue, every nerve tense with excitement. Very soon, however, all
doubt as to the presence of the lion was dispelled. A deep long-drawn
sigh--sure sign of hunger--came up from the bushes, and the rustling
commenced again as he cautiously advanced. In a moment or two a sudden
stop, followed by an angry growl, told me that my presence had been
noticed; and I began to fear that disappointment awaited me once more.

But no; matters quickly took an unexpected turn. The hunter became the
hunted; and instead of either making off or coming for the bait
prepared for him, the lion began stealthily to stalk me! For about two
hours he horrified me by slowly creeping round and round my crazy
structure, gradually edging his way nearer and nearer. Every moment I
expected him to rush it; and the staging had not been constructed with
an eye to such a possibility. If one of the rather flimsy poles should
break, or if the lion could spring the twelve feet which separated me
from the ground ... the thought was scarcely a pleasant one. I began
to feel distinctly "creepy," and heartily repented my folly in having
placed myself in such a dangerous position. I kept perfectly still,
however, hardly daring even to blink my eyes: but the long-continued
strain was telling on my nerves, and my feelings may be better imagined
than described when about midnight suddenly something came flop and
struck me on the back of the head. For a moment I was so terrified that
I nearly fell off the plank, as I thought that the lion had sprung on
me from behind. Regaining my senses in a second or two, I realised that
I had been hit by nothing more formidable than an owl, which had
doubtless mistaken me for the branch of a tree--not a very alarming
thing to happen in ordinary circumstances, I admit, but coming at the
time it did, it almost paralysed me. The involuntary start which I
could not help giving was immediately answered by a sinister growl fro