First from down by the river there came dreadful roarings which they
knew must be the voice of lions, for there were tame beasts of this sort
in the gardens at Thebes. Next they heard the whines and wimperings of
wolves and jackals, and mingled with them great snortings such as are
made by the rhinoceros and the river-horse.
Nearer, nearer came these awful sounds, till at length they saw yellow
eyes moving like stars in the darkness at the edge of the forest, while
cross the patch of sand beneath their rock galloped swift shapes which
halted and sniffed towards them. Also on the river side of them appeared
huge, hog-like beasts, with gleaming tusks, and red cavernous mouths,
and beyond these again, crashing through the brushwood, a gigantic brute
that bore a single horn upon its snout.
"Now our end is at hand," said Tua faintly, "for surely these creatures
will devour us."
But Asti only threw more wood upon the fire and waited, thinking that
the flame would frighten them away. Yet it did not, for so curious, or
so hungry were they, that the lions crept and crept nearer, and still
more near, till at length they lay lashing their tails in the distance
almost within springing distance of the rock, while on the farther side
of these, like a court waiting on its monarch, gathered the hyenas and
other beasts.
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