With sudden animation the safari awoke from the lethargy of the
hot, monotonous march. The spoor was judged to be at least four
hours old, so there was no use putting the dogs on it. Then
presently it disappeared. On the dead grass of the bordering
veldt there was nothing to show which way the lion had gone. But
there was a chance--a small one, yet still a chance--that the
beast was lying up near by in the shade of a thorn tree. So all
the horsemen spread out over the veldt to obtain a wider scope of
vision, and for mile after mile the company moved forward,
sweeping the immediate country.
Proceeding in this manner through the afternoon, we eventually
crested a slightly higher rise and looked down into a shallow
valley that was greener than the rest of the veldt. A few
full-sized trees were growing in the bottom, and there were a
number of outcroppings of rock. Large herds of antelope were
grazing there.
The Colonel called a halt.
"There is no lion anywhere hereabouts," he said, "because the
game are grazing peacefully. But there is a bunch of eland
yonder. We might as well round them up while the light lasts."
The plan of operation was quickly made.
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