Goodenough and Frank took their
seats in another tree a short distance off. The night was fine and
the stars clear and bright. The tree on which the meat hung stood
somewhat alone, so that sufficient light penetrated from above to
enable any creatures approaching the bait to be seen. Instead of
his little Winchester, Frank had one of the Sniders with explosive
bullets. The Houssas were told to keep a sharp watch in camp, in case
the leopards, approaching from the other side, might be attracted
by the smell of meat there, rather than by the bait. The Fans needed
no telling to induce them to keep up great fires all night.
Soon after dark the watchers heard a roaring in the forest. It came
from the other side of the camp.
"That is unlucky," Mr. Goodenough said. "We have pitched on the
wrong side. However, they will probably be deterred by the fire
from approaching the camp, and will wander round and round: so we
may hope to hear of them before long."
In answer to the roar of the leopards the natives kept up a continued
shouting. For some hours the roaring continued at intervals,
sometimes close at hand, sometimes at a considerable distance. Frank
had some difficulty in keeping awake, and was beginning to wish that
the leopards would move off altogether.
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