The next moment, with every hair on his body sticking toward his head, his mouth wide open, showing a frightful array of teeth, his eyes flashing with fury, and the blood trickling from a wound in his side, out bounded a magnificent leopard.
The dogs scattered right and left, but one of them was not quick enough in his movements to escape instant death. He was knocked flat by a blow from the paw of the enraged animal, which, after making two or three high short springs, growling savagely all the while, halted and faced about, as if he had made up his mind to run no further.
Laying his chin down between his fore paws, and waving his tail from side to side, as a cat does when she is watching a mouse, the fierce animal fastened his eyes upon Oscar, whom he seemed to have singled out as a victim; but instead of creeping toward him he writhed backward, as if he were measuring off the distance he intended to clear when he made his spring.
Then came the critical moment. The animal drew his cat-like ears flat down against his head, and at the same instant two ready fingers pressed the triggers. The reports sounded like one, and the leopard, arrested in his leap before he had fairly left the ground, rolled over on his side, powerless for mischief.
Oscar's rifle spoke again a few seconds later, and the honey-bird came fluttering down from his perch. His head was spoiled, sure enough, for it was shot from his body.
"He'll never fool any more hunters," said Oscar as he walked up to examine the leopard after reloading both barrels of his rifle. "I say, Thompson, I think you have earned a musket by this day's work. You put two balls into him very cleverly. If this is the way you are going to back me up when I get into trouble I shall be your debtor for ten pounds when we get back to Maritzburg. We don't want any honey, do we? This fellow's mate may be loafing about in some of these thickets, and the best thing we can do is to get out of here."
It was hard work to carry their prize through those thorn bushes. The leopard was not very heavy at the start,—he did not begin to be as large as either of the hyenas Oscar had secured the day before,—but he grew heavy before they got him out to the plain.
When they reached the edge of the grove Oscar was glad to sit down and rest, while the Kaffir went in pursuit of the horses, which had been alarmed by the noise of the fight, and would no doubt have made the best of their way back to the wagon if they had not hobbled themselves by putting their feet through their bridle-reins.
No amount of coaxing could induce Little Gray to consent to carry the leopard to camp, and the Kaffir's horse objected so strenuously to having anything at all to do with the matter that Oscar was obliged to lash his prize fast to the saddle, while the Kaffir clung to his nag with both hands to keep him from running away.
When this had been done Oscar mounted Little Gray and turned him toward the wagon; but before he reached it he met with two surprises. The first came about in this way: