Page 158 - Adventures in Africa

“ T don’t suppose anything of the sort/' replied

Harry; “ there are no end of lions and leopards
prowling about, and you would have heard them it
you hadn't snored so loudly. It will be your turn to

keep watch, and I intend to rouse you. up in half
an hour.”

“ Yah, yah,” answered Ilans, placing his Head on
the ground^ and going off to sleep again.
As I thought would probably be the case, the scent

of the dead leopards attracted packs of hyaenas and
jackals, who serenaded us with their horrible yells
and howls for the remainder of the night, though the

blazing fire we kept up prevented them from ap­
proaching.

Notwithstanding Harry’s threat, he did not wake
Up Hans, who would probably again have composed
himself for sleep, and we might have been left to the

tender mercies of the hyaenas.
In the morning we took the skins off the two

leopards ; and cleaned and packed them up so as to
be easily transported. A s I Ians claim cd the skin of
the leopard he had shot, he had to carry it, while Jan

carried ours. W e then started off for the vlei. It
would be too lato in the morning, we calculated, by
the time we could reach it, to shoot any animals; and

we should have to wait till the evening, when they
would be likely to come down to drink at the pool.
W e should not, therefore, have hastened our footsteps,

had we not been anxious to obtain a fresh supjzily of
water; for the small stock Ilans and Jan had brought

was exhausted, and we were now almost as thirsty as
we had been on the previous day.