th I heard what I took to be the mutterings of
half-a-dozen, at least, close to us. I shouted louder than ever, to try
and drive them off. As soon as I stopped shouting I listened for my
uncle's voice, dreading lest one of the brutes should have seized him.
I could not stop, to look round, and I was most thankful when I again
heard him shout--

"Go on, Fred; go on, my boy. We shall see Jan's camp-fire before long.
I don't believe there's a lion within half a mile of us. During the
night we hear their voices a long distance off."

At length I saw, right ahead, a glare cast on the trunks and branches of
the trees. It was I hoped produced by our camp-fire. Again, again, we
shouted; should any lions be stalking us, they were very likely to
follow our footsteps close up to our camp, and might pounce down upon us
at the last moment, fearful of losing their prey. I felt greatly
relieved on hearing Jan's shout in reply to ours; and pushing eagerly
on, we saw him sitting close to a blazing fire which he had made up. He
was delighted to see us, for he had become very anxious at our long
absence; especially as a troop of elephants, he said, had passed close
to the camp; and, as one of them was wounded, he knew that they had been
met with by us, and he feared might possibly have trampled us to death.
He had heard, too, the roar of lions near at hand. We found the
giraffe's flesh more palatable than I had expected. As soon as we had
eaten a hearty supper we lay down to rest, Jan promising to remain awake
and keep up a blazing fire so as to scare away the lions.

Every now and then I awoke, and could hear the roarings and mutterings
of the monarchs of the forest, which I heartily wished were sovereigns
of some other part of the world.

Greatly to my disappointment, after the fatigue I had gone through I was
unable to travel the next morning, and we had to put off our departure
for another day.

My uncle went out for a short time, to shoot an antelope or any other
species of deer he could come across for provisions, as what he killed
for food one day was unfit for eating the next.

He had been absent for some time, and as I felt that a short walk would
do me good, I took my gun, intending not to go far from the camp. I had
some hopes that I might come across an antelope or deer during my short
excursion. I of course took good care to keep a look-out on either
side, lest I should be surprised by a lion or a leopard, t