LEOPARDS AND CHEETAHS 



must be stalking in from that direction, and, making a 

 semicircle around the bird, I discovered a big cheetah care- 

 fully approaching him, crouching down on bent legs, in 

 much the same way as the ordinary house cat stalks a 

 mouse just before it is ready to spring on its prey. The 

 leopard, which had not yet observed me, was only some 

 forty yards away. Looking around for the gun bearer to 

 get hold of the rifle, I found, to my amazement, not a man 

 in sight ! > 



Not wishing to lose the cheetah at any price, I made up 

 my mind that it would be a case of either " his skin or 

 mine." So, emerging from my cover, I fired with the right 

 barrel of the gun, containing shot No. 5, meant for small 

 birds. The charge hit the leopard squarely over the heart, 

 but had not power to penetrate more than skin deep. Just 

 as I had anticipated, the leopard instantly charged down 

 on me in big leaps. Deciding to reserve the left barrel, 

 loaded with only No. 2 shot, I waited until the very last 

 moment, and just as I thought the leopard was about to 

 make his last leap for me, I *' let go," hitting the base of 

 his neck. 



At such close range, the muzzle of the gun being cer- 

 tainly not more than, at the most, three yards away from 

 the leopard's neck, the charge had a tremendous effect, the 

 shot tearing a big hole in the neck and turning him in an 

 instant. The moment the leopard received the second shot, 

 he swayed around sideways, made two more leaps, and 

 rolled over dead. This was the only time, I am happy to 

 say, that I lost my patience with my gun bearer, for when 

 he came forward first after the second shot, I " touched 

 him " rather unceremoniously, so that he tumbled into 

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