UP A TREE IN THE JUNGLE 183 



wicked tusks matched him in all his moves and 

 springs. It made no difference which way the 

 leopard would spring, it was always met by a rip- 

 ping of the tusks. It was an ideal place for an 

 encounter of this kind ; a clear, open space, neither 

 having an advantage, the ground baked hard. It 

 gave a firm foothold to the boar as it allowed it to 

 turn and meet the rushes and springs of the leopard, 

 and as the leopard would spring the boar would dart 

 forward, throwing up its head at the same time, the 

 tusks ripping whatever they came in contact with. 

 The object of the leopard was to get a firm hold on 

 the back of the boar, while the boar, unmindful of 

 biting and clawing, was bent on getting the leopard 

 down and disemboweling him. The men became 

 as excited as the monkeys in the trees, and it was 

 difficult to distinguish which were making the more 

 noise or were the more excited. I am positive we 

 looked upon the fight ten minutes, and I cannot 

 judge how long they were at it before we came upon 

 them; they were both becoming weaker from the 

 loss of blood. 



As we watched them with bated breath, the leop- 

 ard kept circling around, crouching for a spring, 

 while the boar, never taking its small red eyes from 

 the leopard, with head lowered, was watching 

 and ready to meet the next move. Almost 

 too quick for the eye to follow, the leopard sprang 

 at the boar like lightning, the boar jumped forward 

 and aside and, in a flash, turned and as the leopard 



