EXCITING RIDE AFTER A LEOPARD 
91 
I turned back, and had not retraced my spoor very long, 
when I heard a shout a long way ahead of me, shortly 
followed by a second. I sent away my shikari running on 
the spoor, and after going a little further, heard shouts. 
Coming through the thorn-hushes I found the pony, syce 
and shikari standing over a dead zebra. They had had a 
very long chase among the trees, the zebra having gone 
right back to the place he was in when I fired at him. 
Leaving two men to skin him, I sent back the others for a 
camel to carry the meat, and proceeded with my shikaris, 
but as we got hopelessly lost in thick bush, we did 
nothing more. It was hours before we found camp 
eventually. In the afternoon I saw the same sounder of 
wart hogs, so mounting my pony, and seizing one of the 
Somalis’ spears, I thought I would have a little pig-stick- 
ing. But after a hard gallop the old boar gained the thick 
bushes, which put further riding out of the question. 
We next approached an open plain, upon which we saw 
oryx feeding, and I was just contemplating how I should 
best get a shot at them, when a huge animal stole out of 
some high grass into the open, and slowly walked towards 
the thick bushes surrounding the plain. We all shouted 
‘ Libah, libah !’ (Lion, lion !). Catching hold of my *450, and 
vaulting into the saddle, I rode at him as hard as I could 
get the pony along. I soon discovered that I was riding 
after a large leopard, and not a lion ; and as he lumbered 
along in front of me at a goodly pace, I saw it would be a 
frantic race to the bushes. Turning the pony’s course, I 
steered straight for the bushes, to stop the leopard from 
entering. Just when I thought he must reach them in 
spite of me, he stopped dead, screwed himself up into a 
ball, and, showing his pearly teeth, snarled at me hoarsely. 
I thought he was about to charge, and stopped the pony 
to fire at him, when he turned and made off out into the 
open as fast as his legs could carry him. I then knew that 
I must either get him or he would get me. Laying the 
reins upon the pony’s back, and digging my heels into his 
