We got back to camp a little past noon, with good appetites for the luncheon which the cook had provided. After lunch we went in pursuit of giraffes, elands, or anything else that might come in our way; and somehow that way led us in the direction of the camp of our female friends. Nobody suggested riding in that direction, but the impulse seemed to be universal.
We found the ladies at home, and received a cordial welcome. They had quite recovered from the excitement of their night in a tree-top in company with lions, and seemed quite willing to take the hunting-field again at any time. Mrs. Roberts said that, whatever they did, they would not go in exactly that same locality again; but I told her it was not at all likely that those lions would be found there. "Lions range about a good deal," I said, "and the beasts which kept you in that tree-top may be dozens of miles away from there by this time. However, I don't think that is a particularly good hunting-ground, as there is not generally much other game where lions abound."
It was arranged that two or three days later, whenever they should send us word, we would join them in a hunt of some kind, meantime keeping a sharp eye out for whatever might put in an appearance. They said they were going on a little excursion on their own account the next day, but did not say where it was.
We remained at their camp a half-hour or so, and then rode away. We were not fortunate enough to find anything that afternoon, or, at any rate, anything we could capture, and so our entire day's sport was limited to the hippopotami.
The next day we followed up the hippopotamus-hunt with very good success. Jack's boat was admirably well adapted for its purposes, and proved to be a very comfortable craft. We did our hunting leisurely, and as the process was the same as on the previous day, I will not waste time in describing it. We were pretty tired when night came, and after a hearty supper slept very soundly.
We slept so soundly, in fact, that we did not hear the growling and roaring of some lions outside the camp until the manager came and waked us. We were up in a moment, in the hope of getting a shot at the brutes; but after hanging around for half an hour or so without getting a sight of them—although we could hear them distinctly—we gave it up and went back to bed. Before doing so, however, we fired two or three shots in the air, or at places on the ground where we fancied we saw anything moving, thus intimating to the prowlers that it would be well for them to keep at a respectable distance.
We were seated at breakfast the next morning, and making good headway with our damper and stewed hippopotamus, when we were interrupted by our manager. He came to announce that the after-rider from the ladies' camp had just come with the news that they were missing again.
"Missing again!" said Jack, as he sprang to his feet; "I hope it isn't lions this time."
"I hope so, too," said Harry, as he imitated Jack's movements, and in his precipitation dropped a cupful of coffee, which went splashing over the table.
"I'll bet it isn't lions," said I; "but it's something equally serious. Let's finish our breakfast and be off." Then I turned to the manager and told him to have our horses saddled at once.