As if passing out of a trance, Colin dimly realised that once again a dire peril had been averted. Scorched by the heat, his eyes painfully strained, and his throat burning, he was glad to drink in copious draughts of the now comparatively cool air. And in the midst of his discomforts he felt a wave of elation. He had bagged his first lion. There lay the huge carcase, the hair singed and the skin utterly spoilt; but it was there, a victim to his borrowed rifle, nevertheless.
A loud detonation rudely interrupted his thoughts. Before he could account for the explosion McFrazer settled the point.
"Mon!" he exclaimed excitedly, "the car!"
Overtaken by the spreading flames, the motor was blazing furiously.
CHAPTER XIII
THE MORNING AFTER
Bang!
Another tyre, unable to withstand the fierce heat, had exploded, scattering a realistic imitation of a firework display in the form of a shower of glowing embers.
The four men watched in mute helplessness. They could do nothing. Even had they been able to cross the sea of subsiding flame that lay between them and the car the heat from the burning vehicle would have held them at bay. There were fire-extinguishers in the locker, but in present circumstances they were useless.