Now I figured that I was far enough to the left and began moving in toward the lion. He stood there thigh deep in brush and I saw his head turn once to look toward me; then it swung back to watch Mary and G.C. His head was huge and dark but when he moved it the head did not look too big for his body. His body was heavy, great and long. I did not know how close G.C. would try to work Mary toward the lion. I did not watch them. I watched the lion and waited to hear the shot. I was as close as I needed to be now and have room to take him if he came and I was sure that if he were wounded he would break toward me as his natural cover was behind me. Mary must take him soon, I thought. She can’t get any closer. But maybe G.C. wants her closer. I looked at them from the corner of my eyes, my head down, not looking away from the lion. I could see Mary wanted to shoot and that G.C. was preventing her. They were not trying to work closer so I figured that from where they were, there were some limbs of brush between Mary and the lion. I watched the lion and felt the change in his coloring as the first peak of the hills took the sun. It was good light to shoot now but it would go fast. I watched the lion and he moved very slightly to his right and then looked at Mary and G.C. I could see his eyes. Still Mary did not shoot. Then the lion moved very slightly again and I heard Mary’s rifle go and the dry whack of the bullet. She had hit him. The lion made a bound into the brush and then came out of the far side headed for the patch of heavy cover to the north. Mary was firing at him and I was sure she hit him. He was moving in long bounds his great head swinging. I shot and raised a puff of dirt behind him. I swung with him and squeezed off as I passed him and was behind him again. G.C.’s big double was firing and I saw the blossomings of dirt from it. I fired again picking the lion up in the sights and swung ahead of him and a bunch of dirt rose ahead of him. He was running now heavy and desperate but beginning to look small in the sights and almost certain to make the far cover when I had him in the sights again, small now and going away fast, and swung gently ahead and lifting over him and squeezed as I passed him and no dirt rose and I saw him slide forward, his front feet plowing, and his great head was down before we heard the thunk of the bullet. Ngui banged me on the back and put his arm around me. The lion was trying to get up now and G.C. hit him and he rolled onto his side.
I went over to Mary and kissed her. She was happy but something was wrong.
“You shot before I did,” she said.
“Don’t say that, honey. You shot and hit him. How could I shoot before you when we’d waited all that time?”
“Ndio. Memsahib piga,” Charo said. He had been right behind Mary.
“Of course you hit him. You hit him the first time in the foot I think. You hit him again too.”
“But you killed him.”
“We all had to keep him from getting into the thick stuff after he was hit.”
“But you shot first. You know you did.”
“I did not. Ask G.C.”
We were all walking up to where the lion lay. It was a long walk and the lion grew larger and deader as we walked. With the sun going it was getting dark fast. The shooting light was gone already. I felt wrung out inside and very tired. G.C. and I were both wet with sweat.
“Of course you hit him, Mary,” G.C. told her. “Papa didn’t shoot until he went into the open. You hit him twice.”
“Why couldn’t I have shot him when I wanted to when he was just standing there and looking at me?”
“There were branches that could have deflected the bullet or broken it up. That was why I made you wait.”
“Then he moved.”
“He had to move for you to shoot him.”
“But did I really hit him first?”
“Of course you did. Nobody would have shot at him before you did.”
“You’re not just lying to make me happy?”
This was a scene that Charo had seen before.
“Piga!” he said violently. “Piga, Memsahib. PIGA!”
I slapped Ngui on the hip with the side of my hand and looked toward Charo and he went over.
“Piga,” he said harshly. “Piga Memsahib. Piga bili.”
G.C. came over to walk by me and I said, “What are you sweating for?”
“How far did you hold over him you son of a bitch?”
“A foot and a half. Two feet. It was bow and arrow shooting.”
“We’ll pace it when we walk back.”
“Nobody would ever believe it.”
“We will. That’s all that matters.”
“Go over and make her realize she hit him.”
“She believes the boys. You broke his back.”
“I know.”
“Did you hear how long it took for the sound of the bullet hitting to come back?”
“I did. Go over and talk to her.”
The Land Rover pulled up behind us.
Now we were there with the lion and he was Mary’s and she knew it now and she saw how wonderful and long and dark and beautiful he was. The camel flies were crawling on him and his yellow eyes were not dull yet. I moved my hand through the heavy black of his mane. Mthuka had stopped the Land Rover and come over and shaken Mary’s hand. She was kneeling by him.