Rogala and I advanced towards the spot, and came to a dark place in the forest, where a number of big trees had fallen upon each other. Under all was a dark recess, a sort of den, and the dog was there. We shouted "Andekko, Andekko," and he came out with a small leopard in his mouth. We were before a leopard's den; both the father and mother of the cubs had gone in search of prey for them.
"There is no time to be lost," said Rogala to me. "I will go into the den and get the leopard's cubs if Andekko has not killed them all. Watch carefully, Oguizi, while I am in, and if the leopards come, let 'Bulldog' send them their death-blow."
Rogala had perfect faith in "Bulldog," and believed in its supernatural powers.
In the meantime Andekko was barking furiously outside, and it was all we could do to prevent him from again going inside. If he did, he would surely kill the rest of the young leopards, if he had not done so before. I watched carefully while Rogala was getting within; my eyes were everywhere around; "Bulldog" was cocked, and I was ready for any sudden coming of papa and mamma leopard. I felt that I must be quick in aiming at them in case they made their appearance together.
In the twinkling of an eye, however, Rogala came out of the den holding two little live leopards by the neck. There were two others, he said, that were dead, and Andekko had had hold of these two.
Rogala looked at me anxiously, and said: "Oguizi, if the leopards are on their way back with food for their little ones, we shall have a bad time. Their anger will be terrible when they see some of their young dead and torn to pieces, and others missing. They will scour the forest in search of their enemy. They move very fast if they have the scent, making one immense bound after another."
"I will set fire to the leopard's den," I replied; "there are many dead branches, and the fire will spread quickly, and the leopards will not know about our being here." At the same time I lighted a match, and set fire to a spot where there were many dead branches and dried leaves. Soon everything was in a blaze, but in that great and damp forest fires never spread far. We left the spot, and as soon as we were in the path we ran as fast as our feet and legs could carry us towards the river and our island, with visions of leopards bounding at full speed after us. Once in a while I could hear the voice of Rogala say: "Go on, Oguizi, go on!" At other times when I saw him flagging, I would shout: "Come on, come on, Rogala!"
I was quite ahead after a while, and as I came in sight of the river I saw a number of savage-looking men on our island. I counted twenty of them. They looked fierce, and their bodies were covered with war-paint. They carried ugly-looking barbed spears and shields made of elephant skins. Their leader walked ahead of them. He was short, and looked fiercer than the rest. They advanced cautiously, and suddenly they stopped and looked frightened. They were looking at my Waterbury clock, and as soon as they heard the tick-tock they turned suddenly and fled in great haste towards their canoe. In a jiffy they left, filled with fear, and paddled away down the river with the greatest speed. I followed them with my eyes until they disappeared behind a bend of the river.
