We knew the animal was near, but we could not succeed in getting a sight of him. As the wind blew from him towards us, I perceived plainly a strong peculiar odour which this animal gives out; and this fact proved, still more decidedly, that the leopard could not be far off. The thought passed through my mind: Is he watching us? Is he coming towards us—crouching like a cat on the ground, and ready to spring upon us when near enough? Do his eyes penetrate the grass which we cannot see through? If so, is he ready to spring?
Meantime our buffalo-bull stood stupidly before his herd, not twenty yards from us, utterly innocent of the presence of so many of his formidable enemies—the leopard, Aboko, and myself.
Just then we moved a little to one side, and, peering through an opening in the grass, I beheld an immense leopard, a female, with a tiny young leopard by her side. The beast saw us at the same moment, having turned her head quickly at some slight noise we made. She had been watching the buffalo so intently as not to notice our approach. It seemed to me as if a curious look of indecision passed over her face. She, too, had more game than she had looked for, and was puzzled which to attack first. Her long tail swished from side to side, and her eyes glared, as she hesitated for a moment to decide which of the three—the bull, Aboko, or me—to pounce upon and make her victim.
But I saved her the trouble of making up her mind; for, in far less time than it takes me to tell you what took place, I had put a ball into her head, which, luckily for us, relieved her of further care for prey. She dropped down dead. At the same moment Aboko fired into the little leopard and killed it. At the noise of the guns, the buffalo-bull and the herd decamped in the opposite direction, at a tremendous pace, the bull little knowing the circumstances to which he owed his life.
I felt much relieved, for I had never before been in quite so ticklish a situation, and I felt no particular desire ever to be in a similar plight again.
When we returned to the camp there was a great excitement as soon as they heard the news that two leopards had been killed. Aboko carried in the young leopard on his back; but mine was too heavy, and had to be left in the field. Guns were fired in rejoicing; and the big leopard was fetched in. When the people returned with it to the camp, all shouted, "What an enormous beast! what an enormous beast! We heard gun firing," etc., etc.
In the midst of this noise Niamkala made his appearance with some of our party, bringing in some wild boars and a pretty little gazelle which the natives called ncheri. Of course the wild boars had been cut up into several pieces, for they were too heavy to carry whole.
Niamkala and his party were received with great cheers. The prospect of a good supper brightened all their faces, and mine also; and I shouted, "Well done, Niamkala and boys!"
Everything was brought to my feet. There was so much to eat that there was no use in dividing the meat into equal shares; so I let everyone take as much as he liked.
After supper the leopards were hung on a pole resting on two forked sticks; and then the negroes danced round them. They sang songs of victory, and exulted over and abused the deceased leopard (the mother). They addressed to her comical compliments upon her beauty (and the leopard is really a most beautiful animal). They said, "What a fine coat you have!" (meaning her skin). "We will take that coat off from you." They shouted, "Now you will kill no more people! Now you will eat no more hunters! Now you cannot leap upon your prey! What has become of the wild bull you were looking after so keenly? Would you not have liked to make a meal of Aboko or of Chaillie?" (for they called me Chaillie).