A long line of porters came out to greet us and a great reception committee was waiting at the camp.

It was the first lion of the expedition, and as such was the signal for great celebration.

That night there were native dances and songs around the big central camp-fire and a wonderful display of pagan hilarity.
It had been a hard day.

Fourteen hours without food, several hours without water, and miles of hard tramping through thorn scrub in the darkness and of long, broiling stretches in the blazing sunlight.

It seemed a good price to pay even for a lion, but that night, as I finally stretched out on my cot, I was conscious from time to time of a glow of pleasure that swept over me.