The Leopard Woman
s roared full-voiced satisfaction when they left the rhinoceros, and the yells of the hyenas rose to a pandemonium when at last they were permitted to join the feast. Likewise the n
ithin the precincts of the camp, he would instantly have been broad awake, the rifle that stood loaded nearby clasped in his hand. Thus he lay q
Moto stopped outside. T
" called
," replie
ened and greeted his master
ed the tiny lantern, for it was stil
marching," s
oto st
chui." Already Kingozi's nick
ent later was heard outside pour
ome chances hiking around thus in the dark. Perhaps some aged or weak lion had not been permitted a share of that rhinoceros. And again she was taking chances pushing ou
a half-dozen of the porters prepared to strike and furl
is water out yonder; but it is water at least forty miles away. She's got to push and push hard to make it, and that's why
Cazi Moto snatched the towel deftly but respectfully and packed it away. Simba, w
d two of his Engli
his camp chair and the eating service, the camp was by now all
ingozi called up Simba a
water is four
_bwa
you, or four hou
n go in four h
re game
a guarded water, a
i cons
x men. Before the mar
ky was thus brilliantly illuminated, the earth, strangely enough, was still gray with twilight. Objects fifty yards distant w
enly the dayl
ned clearly, becoming trees, rocks, distant hills. And almo
of the night's orgy over the rhino carcass was desirable. The fact that the big water-hole below camp had not only remained unvisited, but apparently even de
rs stole along fifty yards in the rear. They were quite as anxious
oo small for the purpose. Then a shift of wind brought to them a medley of sound--a great persistent barking
yes were
me there, _bwa
plied Kingo
w rods of the top of the rise. There they s
ther water-hole. At its edge and in its shallows stood a few beasts. But the
s characters, kicking up their heels, biting at one another, or lowering their horns in short mimic charges-- gay, animated flankers to the main army. There were several sorts, each in its little companies or bands, many times repeated, of from two or three to several score; although occasionally strange assortments and
ll. If they should crawl three yards farther they would indubitably be espied by some one. It was impossibl
oblem soberly before coming back to his first and most obvious conclusion. Then he
ing 'em through the heart at even greater distances--estimated. It is actually a fact, proven many times, that those estimates should be divided by two in order to get near th
tracks. The next best is a bullet low in the shoulder. Third is a really accurate heart shot. This latter is always fatal, of course; but ordinarily the quarry will run at racing speed for some little distance before falling dead. In certain types
circle to from eight to twelve inches, with the chance outside that of merely breaking a foreleg, grazing brisket, or missing entirely under the neck. The heart shot--or rather an attempt at it--is safer for a longer range, not because the mark is larger, but because even if one misses the heart, he is apt to land either the
inexperience in the presence of game as well as his inaccuracy with the rifle, and it keeps in mind that he must hit that mark not merely nine times out of ten, but _every time_. If he cannot get within the hundred yards by stalking, then he should refuse the chance. As expertness rises in the scale the distances increase. Provided there were
two hundred and fifty yards, if you do not know what two hundred and fifty yards is. And here enter a thousand deceits: direction of light, slope of ground, nature of cover, temperature, mirage, time of day, and the like. An apparent hundred yards over water or a
game! In Central Africa, where in a well-stocked district there are from twenty to thirty species, the practice becomes more onerous. This same practice--of pacing the distances--however, has also trained a man's eye for country. He is able to supplement the front-sight method by the usual estimate by eye. Most men do not take this trouble. They practise at target range until they can hit the bull's-eye with fair regularity, miss with nearly equal regularity in the hunting field, and thenceforth talk vaguely
s reactions, that his decision was made almost instantly. A glance at the intervening ground, another through his sights. The top of the bead covered half
last of them had left the water-hole. Kingozi nodded to Simba. Simba, understanding fr
turned their heads, staring intently, making up their minds, their nostrils wide. Kingozi, who ha
llet had told. It was a strange sound, unmistakable to one who has once heard it, much
jaculate
arp eyes had noted the smallest particular of the beast's behaviour
a indicated with his forefinger
. A tyro would have attempted to draw near for a finishing shot, and so would probably have been let in for a long chase. A freshly wounded animal, if kept moving, is capable of astonishing endurance. But the
nyama!_"
faces illuminated with one of the strong
ma! n
days the provisi