The lion had leaped upon a hartebeest, probably instantly breaking its neck, while the rest of the herd had galloped away in terror.

And it had all happened within two or three hundred yards of the tree--yet nothing could be seen.
At two o'clock the grunt of a lion was again heard far off to the south.
It came steadily toward us, and at last there was no doubt about its destination.

It was coming to the bait.

How my eyes strained to pierce the darkness and how breathlessly I waited with rifle in readiness! But the lion only paused at the bait, and as I waited for it to settle down to its feast it went grunting away and the chance was gone.

Perhaps it had already fed, or perhaps it was an unusually fastidious lion which desired to do its own killing.
An hour or two later, both gunbearers asleep and one snoring peacefully, I became aware of a large animal feeding at the bait.