Two or three times he had
nearly dozed off, and his rifle had almost slipped from his hold.
All at once he was aroused by a sharp nudge from his companion.
Fixing his eyes on the bait he made out something immediately below
it. Directly afterwards another creature stole forward. They were
far less distinct than he had expected.
"You take the one to the left," Mr. Goodenough whispered; "Now!"
They fired together. Two tremendous roars were heard. One of the
leopards immediately bounded away. The other rolled over and over,
and then, recovering its feet, followed its companion, Mr. Goodenough
firing his second barrel after him.
"I'm afraid you missed altogether, Frank," he said.
"I don't think so, sir. I fancied I saw the flash of the shell as
it struck him, but where, I have not the remotest idea. I could not
make him out clear enough. It was merely a dim shape, and I fired
as well as I could at the middle of it.
"Shall we go back to the camp now?" Frank asked.
"Yes, we can safely do so. You can tell by the sound of the roars
that they are already some distance away. There is little chance
of their returning tonight. In the morning we will follow them.
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