It is late afternoon, and over sundowner drinks in the hunting lodge the talk around the table is of lions. Or, to be more specific, one particular lion -- "Old Black Mane," the night raider, cattle killer, and terror of the local tribesmen. Man eater!
And then, there he is, muzzle smeared in blood, the crouched over its kill, a young male springbok.
The hunters are tourists, a married couple from the United States -- plump, prosperous, middle-aged, and dressed rather absurdly in Hemingway khaki. They listen wide-eyed as the dark South African night closes in and their Afrikaner hosts spin ever more chilling tales.