Niger

fierceness of his countenance, that the hunters,
instead of proceeding any further, thought it prudent
to provide for their own safety by covering them¬
selves with the roof. Unfortunately, the lion was
too nimble for them ; for, making a spring while
the roof was setting down, both the beast and the
pursuers were caught in the same cage, and the lion
devoured them at his leisure, to the great astonish¬
ment and mortification of the people of Dooma-
sansa ; at which place it is dangerous even at this
day to tell the story, for it is become the subject of
laughter and derision in the neighbouring countries,
and nothing will enrage the inhabitants of that town
so much as desiring them to catch a lion alive.’
The tale of these Gambian Wise Men of Gotham
preceded the feast on the newly-slaughtered bullock.
Then the four went back through the paths and the
raucous silences of the African night to Jindey and
the house of the trader’s relict. It was the last night
that Mungo was to spend in the company of white
men for nearly two years.
For, after noon on the following day, the 3rd of
December, Laidley and the Ainslies drew rein and
bade Mungo goodbye. He responded with his usual
serene decorum, waved them a dignified farewell,
and then, with his six attendants at his heels,
turned and rode slowly down a forest track into the
dark obscurities of treey Africa.
53