fore
their train arrived, so they at once made up their minds to remain
there for the night and endeavour to shoot him. Ryall's carriage was
accordingly detached from the train and shunted into a siding close to
the station, where, owing to the unfinished state of the line, it did
not stand perfectly level, but had a pronounced list to one side. In
the afternoon the three friends went out to look for the lion, but,
finding no traces of him whatever, they returned to the carriage for
dinner. Afterwards they all sat up on guard for some time; but the only
noticeable thing they saw was what they took to be two very bright and
steady glow-worms. After-events proved that these could have been
nothing else than the eyes of the man-eater steadily watching them all
the time and studying their every movement. The hour now growing late,
and there being apparently no sign of the lion, Ryall persuaded his two
friends to lie down, while he kept the first watch. Huebner occupied
the high berth over the table on the one side of the carriage, the only
other berth being on the opposite side of the compartment and lower
down. This Ryall offered to Parenti, who declined it, saying that he
would be quite comfortable on the floor and he accordingly lay down to
sleep, with his feet towards the sliding door which gave admission the
carriage.

It is supposed that Ryall, after watching for some considerable time,
must have come to the conclusion that the lion was not going to make
its appearance that night, for he lay down on the lower berth and dozed
off. No sooner had he done so, doubtless, than the cunning man-eater
began cautiously to stalk the three sleepers. In order to reach the
little platform at the end of the carriage, he had to mount two very
high steps from the railway line, but these he managed to negotiate
successfully and in silence. The door from this platform into the
carriage was a sliding one on wheels, which ran very easily on a brass
runner; and as it was probably not quite shut, or at any rate not
secured in any way, it was an easy matter for the lion to thrust in a
paw and shove it open. But owing to the tilt of the carriage and to his
great extra weight on the one side, the door slid to and snapped into
the lock the moment he got his body right in, thus leaving him shut up
with the three sleeping me in the compartment.

He sprang at once at Ryall, but in order to reach him had actually to
plant his feet on Parenti, who