A Borgu Leopard 



left barrel; but lie stood long enough to allow 

 me to reload and give him another, as he 

 moved on again. Once more he stopped to 

 the shot, but made no sound, and had resumed 

 his course and disappeared before I could fire a 

 third time. 



I ran up to where he had been, but there were 

 no sounds of a death struggle in the bush beyond, 

 no bloodstains in the grass, and his footmarks 

 were unvaried, not the few quick steps tearing 

 up the ground a stricken beast so often makes. 

 I was in the depths of woe and disgust ; but 

 Ajala came up, leaping and shouting because, 

 he said, I'd killed my game. I thought he was 

 trying to let me down gently, and, I regret to 

 say, cursed him accordingly ; but so positive was 

 he that I pushed on into the thicket to look 

 about. It was dangerous enough in there with 

 a rifle if the brute was wounded, but Ajala shoved 

 in abreast of me, unarmed, despite my signals 

 to keep back. I hunted about a bit, but I didn't 

 like it, and seeing nothing to encourage me, came 

 out, and had sadly decided to " chuck it" when 

 I heard Ajala whistle. In I went again, and saw 

 my soldier squatting down, pointing under the 

 bushes; and, sure enough, there was a patch of 

 yellow under a tree. Cocking my rifle again, I 

 slowly approached it, throwing bits of stick to 

 see if any life remained. Finally, I stood over 



237 



