A SECRET OF THE ORANGE RIVER. 191 



forward, until within thirty-five yards of the 

 grim cats. They were male and female, and two 

 as magnificent specimens of their kind as sun ever 

 shone upon. The male had now crouched flat for 

 his charge, and not an instant was to be lost ; the 

 female stood apparently irresolute. Noticing this, 

 and not having time to speak, we both let drive at 

 the charging male ; both shots struck, but neither 

 stopped him. The lady, hearing the report, and 

 apparently not liking the look of affairs, incontinently 

 fled. With a hoarse throaty grunt, the male 

 leopard flew across the sand, coming straight at me, 

 and then launched himself into the air. I fired 

 too hurriedly my second barrel, and, for a wonder, 

 clean missed, for in those days I seldom failed in 

 stopping dangerous game ; but these beggars are 

 like lightning once they are charging. In a 

 moment the yellow form was flying through space, 

 straight at my head ; I sprang to one side, and 

 Klaas, firing again, sent the leopard struggling to 

 earth, battling frantically for life amid sand and 

 shingle, with a broken back. Lucky was the shot, 

 and bravely fired, or I had probably been as good 

 as a dead man ere this. Another cartridge soon 

 finished off the fierce brute. We noticed, on 

 inspection, that one of our first two bullets had 

 ploughed up the leopard's nose, and glanced off the 

 forehead ; the other had entered the chest, and 

 passed almost from end to end of the body, while 

 the third had broken the spine. Klaas soon whipped 

 the skin off the dead leopard, and hid it under some 

 stones, and we then proceeded, the whole affair 

 having occupied but twenty minutes. 



" Another mile of this canal-like kloof brought us 



