My knowledge of ventriloquism did me splendid service. I threw my voice into a clump of bushes right behind the madam with the gun, which so startled her she lowered the point of the rifle and while she was turning around to learn the exact whereabouts of the intruder she dispatched the piece twelve times in rapid succession, killing a lion at every crack. Then I threw my voice in such manner as to keep her turning and by the time she had got back to the starting point she had disposed of several more. Then I threw my voice immediately beneath her and gave a terrific yell, which caused her to bound into the air and discharge her gun as she went, which happened to be pointed toward the other rifles, and the ball somehow or other struck in such a manner as to discharge several of them, one of the balls disposing of her in excellent style, the others killing the few remaining. I quickly descended from my perch and captured all the cubs, which I tied together and fed with the flesh of the dead lions. In the morning the hunters returned and their astonishment at the havoc I had wrought among the lions, they could not find an end to their congratulations. I sold them the young lions for a handsome fortune and gave them the hides of the old ones, as they were in the employ of some museums and parks and were out hunting lions for their employers. They had expected to remain a year and this was their first camp. As they only desired twenty lions they could now go back at once with their herd of fifty beautiful cubs. After they had gone away rejoicing, I laid my course in another direction which finally brought me to the desert. Wishing to reach an oasis I pressed on, but night overtaking me I lay down on a little mound and went to sleep. I was awakened at the break of day by the approach of a flock of ostriches coming pellmell toward me. In my hurry to be prepared for them I disengaged my burning fluid from my pocket, and before I could recover it some of it had been spilled on the mound. I had barely time to grab around the neck the young ostrich that was hatched by the heat produced by my fluid—for it was an ostrich nest on which I had slept. [Illustration] This chick must have been pretty well saturated by the fluid for his growth was prodigious. As he had been born so suddenly, and therefore was a very newcomer in the neighborhood, he became frightened by the noise made by the mothers and fathers of the brood and made off with me on his back, he going at the top of his speed. I may be pardoned for remarking it was the prettiest race I had ever witnessed, and I believe now I did a very contemptible thing, though it did not so appear to me at the time. The flock was in ripe feather and represented a goodly pile of gold. As I sped along I concerned myself with the problem of their capture, and I was not long in formulating a plan.