STAKING LIFE ON A DIE. 17 



life, and a wounded leopard is without question the 

 most dangerous of the wild beasts to be encountered 

 in my country. Such is the opinion of those who 

 have had to deal with them in the open ; what, 

 then, could be said of an encounter with one when 

 you are actually caged with it in the same cave ? 

 The first duty of a hunter after he has fired is to 

 reload his gun. I endeavoured to do so, but from 

 my constrained position the process was slow. How- 

 ever, at length I got the ball home ; the ramrod I 

 dropped to expedite the priming, which was not an 

 easy task in the darkness. Doubtless I hurried, 

 and as doubtlessly spilt a large quantity of my 

 valuable powder in the task ; but my ears told me 

 that the wounded beast was struggling towards me, 

 and that little or no distance now separated us. So 

 I shoved forward my musket to fire. With its 

 muzzle I felt assured I touched the object of my 

 aim. I increased the pressure, and found the re- 

 sistance sufficiently strong to know that it was some 

 important part of the foe's body it was in contact 

 with. So I again pressed the trigger, and in a few 

 moments after all was still. I drew a deep breath 

 of thankfulness, and no wonder. I had played a 

 game in which my life was the stake, although all 

 the odds were against me ; and I had won. 



" So close was my trophy wedged in the passage 

 in front of me, that it was not without great labour 

 I passed over it and gained the outlet, but even 



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