Read Online Echoes From a Distant Land by Frank Coates - Free Book Online Page B

evening.’
    â€˜Out to catch some air before bed, is it?’
    â€˜What? Oh, yes. That is, no. I thought I’d warm myself for a spell before retiring with my book.’
    â€˜Fine idea. Would you care for a drop of scotch to keep off the chill?’
    Ketterman stared at the bottle for a long moment. ‘Scotch, yes. That would be useful. Yes, it would.’
    Hungerford fished a glass from his chop-box and poured him a generous portion.
    â€˜Thank you,’ Ketterman said, taking a seat on a log opposite.
    The two men sipped whisky in silence.
    â€˜We have only about a week remaining here in the Serengeti before we must turn for home,’ Hungerford said. ‘So, have you thought any more about your lion scene?’
    â€˜My lion scene! Yes, I have.’
    â€˜And are you still determined to go through with it?’
    Ketterman said he was.
    â€˜In that case, this may be our last opportunity to do it. Kazimoto has found a good many lions not far from here. They’re in scattered scrub, but there are clearings where you might be able to take some good shots with your cameras.’
    â€˜Excellent. When do we start?’
    â€˜We could try tomorrow if you wish, but I must first make sure you understand the danger involved in what you are planning.’
    Ketterman nodded.
    Hungerford said that in all his years as a white hunter he had seen many lion attacks, but no two were the same.
    â€˜Sometimes they sham a retreat before making a full-blooded charge. Sometimes they lie in ambush. I have heard of a wounded lion that stalked the hunter for hours before coming in for a kill. They are smart animals, Mr Ketterman. And the most powerful killer in Africa. Faced with superior numbers, he will flee. A lion will only attack if he feels threatened or has been wounded. If we are to get the action you want for your moving pictures, I must arrange sufficient inducement for him to flee, but not so much as to make him attack. So, this is what I have been thinking we should do.’
    Hungerford explained he would divide his men into three groups. Two groups would be engaged in driving the lions from their hide or resting place towards the camera. Each group would have an armed gun bearer for protection. A smaller group would remain with Hungerford.
    â€˜This is our biggest risk. I don’t like relying on gun bearers to give cover to the beaters, but I have no choice. I can only be in oneplace and that will have to be with you, just in case the lion has more on his mind than escape.’
    Â 
    About mid-morning, the camera safari received good news. The trackers had found fresh lion scat not far away, and Hungerford rallied the porters to pick up the pace. It was their first positive sighting after three long days of searching with nothing in the film canisters to show for it.
    Sam loped along with the camera case in one hand and the tripod slung over his shoulder, but he could see that Ira was finding the forced march difficult: he stumbled over grass tufts and sweat tumbled from under the brim of his sun helmet.
    Sam knew the reason for haste. They were running out of time. If they weren’t able to capture the lion footage in the next day or so, they would have to abandon the hunt and head back to Nairobi. He also knew that their need for haste had meant that Hungerford had kept this search party small.
    Hungerford armed Kazimoto and another man and told them to stay with the beaters. Each had a 12-bore shotgun — a decent field piece heavily loaded with a one-ounce round ball. He said that if trouble came their way the ball-loaded guns were the best chance of stopping a charging lion at close range. Ali would act as Hungerford’s gun bearer, carrying his favourite — a Rigby 470 Nitro Express — with the heavier Holland and Holland 577 in reserve.
    Ali had made no further threats towards Sam, although his sullen glares left him in no doubt that the head man was still