beating the earth now and then. "Ho there, Mafuta!" called Dick, as he
stood taking in the scene and admiring
the generally romantic effect of it all--the glowing
fires, the wavering columns of smoke, the uneasy animals, the flitting
figures, the great bulk of the wagon
with its white canvas tent aglow with the firelight, and the mellow
stars raining down their soft radiance; "what is all the disturbance
about?" "Lions, baas," answered the Kafir as he paused for a moment,
his arms filled with a great bundle of branches which he was carrying
to the fires,
and his great bronze body shining with perspiration; "we are beset by
them; and if the fires were allowed to die down they would rush in
upon us, and kill or stampede the whole
of the oxen and horses. See there--and there--and there," he added,
pointing into the darkness
beyond the glow of the fires. Dick looked, but could at first see
nothing, his eyes as yet being dazzled by the light of the flames, but
presently, looking in the direction toward which Mafuta pointed, he
caught sight of first
one pair of greenishyellow orbs, and then another, and another,
gleaming
out of the darkness, until finally he counted no less than seven pairs
of eyes, all intently staring inward. By the flitting to and
fro of some of these pairs of eyes Dick perceived
that certain of the lions were regularly making the circuit of
the camp,
some in one direction, some in the other, apparently searching for an
unguarded spot at which they might venture to make a dash; but there
were three pairs of eyes that remained stationary, as though their
owners were patiently awaiting a signal of some sort. These, Dick
decide
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