e.

"Here, Duke!" he cried; "carry."

He slung the birds on either side of the dog's neck, and then stooping
down, picked up the fat, heavy cubs, tucked one under each arm, where
they nestled to him, and then started for home.

"Nice position for me if I'm wrong," he muttered. "Suppose their mother
isn't dead, and she finds me stealing her young ones. Ugh!"

But he was not wrong, and soon after entered the house with his prizes,
to find Emson awake and watching him; while Tanta Sal crouched on the
floor, gazing at the lamp which she had lit and seemed to admire
intensely.

"How are you?" was Dyke's first question, and on being assured in a
faint echo of a voice that his brother was better, he handed two of the
birds to the woman to take and stew down at once.

"Take lion's babies too?" she said, shaking her head severely. "Not
good eat."

"Who wants to eat them?" said Dyke. "No: I'm going to keep them. Come,
make haste. I want to see those birds cooking into soup."

"Soup? Ooomps. Tant know make tea--coffee--dinner."

"No, no; soup."

"Ooomps; make bird tea, coffee? Baas Joe drink in spoon."

"Yes, that's right; you understand," cried Dyke, and the woman hurried
out with the birds, the dog following her, his instinct teaching him
that there would be the heads and possibly other odds and ends to fall
to his share. But before going, he went and poked at the two cubs and
uttered a low bark.

"What do you think of these, Joe?" said Dyke, picking up his prizes, and
placing them on the bed.

"Dangerous, little un," said Emson feebly. "The mother will scent them
out."

"No: I feel sure it was their mother I shot last night. She lies out
yonder where Tant and I dragged her."

"Ah!" said Emson softly, "it was her skin Tant brought in to show me.
She stripped it off to-night."

"She did? Bravo! well done, Tant! But look here, Joe: couldn't I bring
these cubs up?"

"Yes, for a time; but they would grow dangerous. Try."

That night, after finding very little difficulty in getting the cubs to
suck a couple of pieces of rag soaked in milk, Dyke dropped asleep, to
dream that the lioness had come to life again, and was waiting at the
door for her cubs; but it proved to be only Tanta Sal once more, just at
daybreak, with a tin of the bird soup, which she had set to stew
overnight, and woke up early to get ready for the baas. Of this Emson
partook with avidity as soon as he woke, his brother laughi