Theoretically, there couldn't be a better place to expect lions, but nary a lion appeared that night.
Upon a later occasion--Christmas night, it was--I watched from a boma near an elephant we had killed, but except for the distant grunting of lions, there was nothing important to chronicle.
Lion hunting goes by luck.

One man may sit in a boma night after night without getting a shot, while another may go out once and bring back a black-mane.

I spent two nights in a boma without seeing a lion; Stephenson spent seven nights and saw only a lioness.

He held his fire in the expectation that the male was with her and would soon appear.
Presently a huge beast appeared, vague in the dark shadows; he thought it was the male lion, shot, and the next morning found a large dead hyena.
Mrs.Akeley went out only once, had a night of thrilling experiences, and killed a large male lion.

The lion appeared early in the evening and her first shot just grazed the backbone.