“I'm afraid you missed altogether, Frank,” he said.
“I don't think so, sir. I fancied I saw the flash of the shell as it struck him, but where, I have not the remotest idea. I could not make him out clear enough. It was merely a dim shape, and I fired as well as I could at the middle of it.
“Shall we go back to the camp now?” Frank asked.
“Yes, we can safely do so. You can tell by the sound of the roars that they are already some distance away. There is little chance of their returning tonight. In the morning we will follow them. There is sure to be blood, and the natives will have no difficulty in tracking them.”
The rest of the night passed quietly, although roars and howling could be heard from time to time in the distance.
Early in the morning they started with the Houssas.
“We must be careful today,” Mr. Goodenough said, “for a wounded leopard is a really formidable beast.”
There was no difficulty in taking up the traces.
“One of them at least must be hard hit,” Mr. Goodenough remarked; “there are traces of blood every yard.”
They had gone but a short distance when one of the Houssas gave a sudden exclamation, and pointed to something lying at the edge of a clump of bushes.