"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 decided, were the most dangerous of their foes, and at the same time the most easy to deal with, because of their immovability; so, returning to the tent he first cast a quick glance at the still soundly sleeping form of Grosvenor. Then he took up his bandolier, threw it over his shoulder and adjusted it in position, seized his rifle and satisfied himself that it was fully loaded, and again made his way outside. It took a minute or two for his eyes again to adjust themselves to the peculiar conditions of the light, but presently he again caught sight of one of the motionless pairs of eyes, and, sinking upon one knee, he raised his rifle to his shoulder, carefully brought its two sights accurately in line with a point midway between the two glowing orbs, and pressed the trigger. The sharp, whip-like crack of the weapon was answered by several low, snarling growls, and a swishing of the grass suggestive of several heavy bodies bounding away through it, while the stationary and moving pairs of eyes vanished, as if by magic; and a minute or two later some four or five of the oxen lay down where they were tethered to the trek chain, with a sigh of obvious relief.