and the only way in which I could possibly account for
the presence of the beast was upon the assumption that he had been
following the herd, and in springing upon some victim had become so
closely involved that he had found it impossible to make his way out
again.

I have always stoutly maintained that animals possess the power of
communicating with each other, and what I witnessed now only tended to
confirm me in my belief: for after the thing which I have been
attempting to describe had continued for some ten minutes it suddenly
came to an end; the remainder of the army had evidently halted, for
although the cries from above still created a tremendous volume of
sound, indicating that an innumerable multitude of animals survived up
there on the top of the cliff, the thunder of the trampling hoofs had
died down to almost nothing, while the animals, instead of being thrust
helplessly over the edge, advanced thereto in little groups, gazed down
into the ravine, and then retired again. When this had continued for
some few minutes the sound of hoofs again became audible; but now the
hoofs were retiring instead of advancing, and in the space of ten
minutes had become inaudible. The creatures had retired to seek a safer
road elsewhere.

Then, emerging into the open, and beckoning Piet, who also had quitted
cover, to join me, I walked over to the foot of the fatal cliff to
examine more closely the ghastly pile of carcasses that lay there, and
by the time that I arrived the air was already darkening with the vast
flock of vultures which was gathering to the feast thus bountifully
provided for them.

The lion that I had seen come hurtling over the precipice in company
with the herd of blesbok happened to be lying in such a position that I
could get at him without very much difficulty, and I determined to have
his hide if upon examination it should prove worth taking. Accordingly,
upon the arrival of Piet, we both clambered up on the mound of dead and
dying animals until we reached the spot where the lion lay doubled up in
a heap and partially buried beneath the carcasses of the animals that
had fallen on top of him. He was quite dead, his spine, and almost
every other bone in his body apparently, being broken; but his skin was
uninjured, so far as we could see. Piet and I therefore each seized one
of his great fore paws, and, with a long pull, a strong pull, and a pull
all together, contrived to drag him clear and roll