Japhet, rising to the occasion, pointed to his back, and bent down.

Higgs flung himself upon it, and was hitched up like a sack of flour.

The pair began to advance toward the ladder, Japhet carrying Higgs as one schoolboy carries another.
The lion sat down like a great dog, watching this strange proceeding with mild interest, but the lioness, filled with feminine curiosity, followed sniffing at Higgs, who looked over his shoulder.

Taking off his battered helmet, he threw it at the beast, hitting her on the head.
She growled, then seized the helmet, playing with it for a moment as a kitten does with a ball of wool, and next instant, finding it unsatisfying, uttered a short and savage roar, ran forward, and crouched to spring, lashing her tail.

I could not fire, because a bullet that would hit her must first pass through Japhet and Higgs.
But, just when I thought that the end had come, a rifle went off in the shadow and she rolled over, kicking and biting the rock.