“That proves the leopard is not to be trifled with.”

“No animal is, when it stands at bay, or is driven to desperation; and, in confirmation of this, I once witnessed one of these animals—­the quaggas—­which, being pressed to the edge of a precipice by a mounted hunter, seized the man’s foot with its teeth, and actually tore it off, so that, although medical aid was at hand, the man died from loss of blood.”

“One would hardly expect such a tragical issue to the chase of a wild jackass,” observed the Major.

“No; but ‘in the midst of life we are in death,’ and we never know from whence the blow may come.  Until it occurred, such an event was supposed impossible, and the very idea would have created nothing but ridicule.  By the by, one of our good missionaries was very near losing his life by a leopard.  He went to save a Hottentot who had been seized, and was attacked by the leopard which, as in the former instance, left his first antagonist to meet his second.  Fortunately, Mr. S. was a very powerful man, and assistance was sooner given him than in the former instance.  Neither he nor the Hottentot, however, escaped without severe wounds, which confined them for many weeks.”

“Is there more than one variety of leopard, Swinton?”

“Yes, there is the common leopard and the hunting leopard; besides, I think, two or three smaller varieties, as the tiger-cat and wild cat.  What do you propose doing to-day?  Do you stay here, or advance, Wilmot?”

“Why, the Major wishes to have a shot at the gnoos; he has never killed one yet; and as I am of his opinion, that a day’s rest will recover the oxen, and we are in no hurry, I think we may as well stop and provision our camp for a few days.”

“With all my heart.  I am sorry that the hyena has added to our store, by obliging us to kill the poor ox; however, it can not be helped.  There is a large body of gnoos and quaggas under that small hill to the westward; but there are better animals for the table when we get a little further to the northward.”

“Which are those?”

“The eland, the largest of the antelope species, and sometimes weighing more than a thousand pounds; moreover, they are very fat, and very easy to run down.  They are excellent eating.  When I was in the Namaquas’ land, we preferred them to any other food; but I see another variety of game on the plain there.”

“What?”

Omrah pointed them out.  “They are either Bushmen (tame Bushmen, as they are called, in contradistinction to the others), or else Korannas; most probably the latter.  They are coming right towards us; but Mahomed says breakfast is ready.”

By the time that breakfast was finished, a party of twelve Korannas had joined the caravan.  They made signs that they were hungry, pointing to the straps which confined their stomachs.  The interpreter told them that they were about to hunt, and that they should have some of the game, at which they were much pleased.