Hastings was lying on his back, with
his eyes looking upwards, when he perceived on the lower branch of the
tree a panther, which lay along it, his green eyes fixed upon us, and
ready to spring; he seized his musket, and fired it without taking aim,
for there was no time; but the ball entered the stomach of the animal,
and, as it appeared, divided its back-bone. Down came the beast, within
three or four feet of where we lay, with a loud roar, and immediately
crouched to spring upon Romer; but it could not, for the back-bone
being broken, it had not any power in its hinder quarters, so it raised
up its fore quarters, and then dropped down again. I never saw such
rage and fury in an animal in my life. At first we were too much
frightened to fire; but, perceiving that the beast could not spring,
Hastings snatched the musket from Romer and shot it through the head.
"We were now obliged to hunt for our livelihood, and we became bolder
than ever. Our clothes were all in rags; but we had plenty of powder
and ammunition; there were hundreds and hundreds of antelopes and gnus
in the plain - indeed, sometimes it was impossible to count them. But
this plentiful supply of game was the cause of our being in greater
danger, for now, for the first time, we heard the roar of the lions
every night.
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