All This, Of Course, Happened In Only A Second
Or Two.
In the short instant that intervened, I
felt a cartridge thrust into my hand by Spooner's
plucky servant, Imam
Din, who had carried the
12-bore all day and who had stuck to me gallantly
throughout the charge; and shoving it in, I
rushed as quickly as I could to Bhoota's rescue.
Meanwhile, Spooner had got there before me and
when I came up actually had his left hand on the
lion's flank, in a vain attempt to push him off
Bhoota's prostrate body and so get at the heavy
rifle which the poor fellow still stoutly clutched.
The lion, however, was so busily engaged
mauling
Bhoota's arm that
he paid not the
slightest attention
to Spooner's efforts.
Unfortunately, as
he was facing
straight in
my direction, I had to move
up in full view
of him, and the
moment I reached
his head, he stopped chewing the arm, though
still holding it in his mouth, and threw himself
back on his haunches, preparing for a spring,
at the same time curling back his lips and
exposing his long tusks in a savage snarl. I
knew then that I had not a moment to spare, so
I threw the rifle up to my shoulder and pulled
the trigger. Imagine my utter despair and horror
when it did not go off! "Misfire again," I thought,
and my heart almost stopped beating. As
took a step backwards, I felt it was all over no
for he would never give me time to extract the
cartridge and load again. Still I took another
step backwards, keeping my eyes fixed on the
lion's, which were blazing with rage; and in the
middle of my third step, just as the brute was
gathering himself for his spring, it suddenly
struck me that in my haste and excitement, I had
forgotten that I was using a borrowed rifle and
had not pulled back the hammer (my own was
hammerless). To do this and put a bullet through
the lion's brain was then the work of a moment;
and he fell dead instantly right on the top of
Bhoota.
We did not lose a moment in rolling his great
carcase off Bhoota's body and quickly forced opening
the jaws so as to disengage the mangled arm
which still remained in his mouth. By this time
the poor shikari was in a fainting condition, and
we flew to the tonga for the brandy flask which we
had so providentially brought with us. On making
a rough examination of the wounded man, we
found that his left arm and right leg were both
frightfully mauled, the latter being broken as
well. He was lifted tenderly into the tonga - how
thankful we now were to have it with us! - and
Spooner at once set off with him to camp and
the doctor.
Before following them home I made a hasty
examination of the dead lion and found him to be
a very good specimen in every way.
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