Page 62 - Adventures in Africa

A t length I saw, right ahead, a glare cast on the
trunks and branches of the trees. It was I hoped

produced by our campfire. 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. W e 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.
livery now and then i awoke, and could hear the
roarings and niutterings of the m on arch s 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.