ur, who had suffered from the visits of a leopard, which had
killed nearly twenty chickens during two nights. No one at the house
was much of a shot, and they did not like meddling with this fellow.
Now, for reasons of my own, I wanted to shoot him."

"Tell the truth, Hendrick; you wanted to show the pretty Katrine you
were a man," said one of the party.

"Well, I did wish it," said Hendrick; "so I started one morning quite
early, without telling any one what I was going to do; and mounting my
pony, I rode to a kloof about four miles off, where I knew the
chicken-killer would most probably be found. My gun was only a
single-barrelled, but I did not care much for that.

"I went down the ravine on foot, and looked all about for spoor. When I
had walked some distance in the kloof and amongst some trees, I found
the remains of a buck partly eaten. I saw that it had been seized by
the neck, and therefore knew that a leopard had killed it, a hyaena or
wolf generally seizing by the flank. I looked carefully all round, but
could see nothing of the leopard; but at last I happened to look up in
the trees, and there he was leaning over a large branch and eyeing me
most viciously. When he saw that I had discovered him, he sprung
quickly to the ground, and darted away through the long grass. I had
just time to fire at him as he went, and saw by the twist of his body
that I had wounded him; but he jumped along like a cat, and as though
not much damaged. I ran up the ravine to my horse, and galloped after
the leopard, which I could see going along very fast. He was making for
a much larger ravine, where some tall trees showed their tops above the
banks.

"Leaving my horse outside, I went into the ravine on the spoor, which I
had great difficulty in following, as the briers and wait-a-bit thorns
were troublesome to push through.

"After a little way I saw some blood, and could now get on better; my
gun had a good charge of powder in it, and I held it ready for a shot,
and felt that my knife was loose in the sheath. I did not much like the
work, now I was really at it; but it would never do to go back and say I
had not looked to see if my leopard were dead.

"I sat still a little while to collect my pluck and listen for any sign:
not discerning any noise, I moved on again.

"When I was down nearly at the bottom of the ravine, I suddenly saw
close to me the wounded leopard: he did not run away this time, but
crouched do