The Leopard Woman

the dry country stretching away to a horizon infinitely remote, beyond which lay single mountains, like ships becalmed hull-down at sea. The immensities filled the world-- the simple immensitie

e or more, but was brought to a stop at last. Underfoot was hard-baked earth, covered by irregular patches of shale that tinkled when stepped on. Well-defined paths, innumerable, trodden deep and hard, cut into the iron soil. They nearly all ran in a northwesterl

re have been recognized by children of the wilderness as that which gets the greatest result from the least effort. Dressed in the brown cork helmet, the brown flannel shirt with spine-pad, the khaki trousers, and the light boots of the African traveller little was to be made of either hi

e some gazelle, some distant herd of zebra or wildebeeste standing in the vista of the flat-topped trees. His nostrils slowly expanded and contracted with his breathing, as do those of a spirited horse. In contrast to the gait of the white man he stepped vigorously and proudly as though the long day had not touched his strength. He wore a battered

y or opportunity in the cast-off garments of the coast; comical in the ensemble, perhaps, but worthy of respect

d as nearly as possible like the white man, and carrying as the badge of his office a bul

loads, the long safari sticks went _tap, tap, tap_, in rhythm. This tapping was a steady undertone to the volume of noise that arose from thirty throats. Every man was singing or shouting at the full strength of his lungs. A little file of Wakamba sung in unison one of the weird wavering minor chants peculiar to savage peoples everywhere; some Kavirondos simply howled in staccato barks l

served the gun bearer to the whit

as Simba, had noticed the gradual convergence of the game trails, the presence of small grass birds that flushed under their feet,

conceal the middle distance without actually breaking the surface of the veldt. In the

rmured Simba. "Th

r hissing sound. The white man, too, droppe

e whispered fiercel

safari, at the sight of the two dropping to a crouch, had

Simba reminded hi

l sensible good rifle shots do when they have the chance. Simba, his eyes glowing fiercely, s

llowed the rifle's crack. "_Na kamata_--he has it!"

an, unlimited in ammunition but restricted in chances, would probably have pumped in four or five shots until the quarry was down

ed the white

shoulder," r

mba motioned to the waiting safari, who, correctly interpreting the situation, broke into a trot. Both Simba and his master knew that had the animal not received a mortal wound it would bef

He shifted the heavy rifle and reached out to touch the li

Simba had a name for everything from the sheath knife of his office to the white man himself. Indeed Culbertson in the Central countries was Culbertso

with a rapid fire of safari sticks against the lo

eagerly gleaming eyes, as would well-trained dogs in like circumstances. Simba briefly indicated the three nearest to act as his assistants. The w

yangu_--the ten

charge of the indicated delicacy. Soon all was ready for a resumption of the march. Nothing was left of the wildebeeste save th

passing ring of them sat a scant fifty yards distant, their wings held half out from their bodies, as tho

urist, declaimed loudly at the top of his lungs, mocking the marabouts

s much, and leaves. Little meat will

ingless but hearty laughter

s low voice cut ac

a!_" he

azi Moto and Simb

zi Moto moved here and there, lively as a cricket, his eyes alert

lingly enough swung aloft their loads, now augmen

of ungainly hops, trying for more haste by futile urgings of their wings. Where the wildebeeste had fallen was a writhing, flopping, struggling brown mass. In an incredibly brief number of seconds it was all over. The birds withdrew. Some sat disgruntled and humpbacked in the low trees; some merely hopped away a few yards to indulge in gloomy though

is great empty laughs; "your stomachs wil

e low narrow line of green trees,