I dared not shoot while men were in the line of fire even on the other side of the cheetah, for I knew the high-power bullet would at that range go right on through, and I fairly split my throat trying to clear the way.  It seemed five minutes, though it was probably only as many seconds, before I got my chance.  It was high time.  The cheetah had reared to strike the man down.[23] My shot bowled her over.  She jumped to her feet again, made another dash at the thoroughly scared Kavirondo, and I killed her just at his coat-tails.

The cheetahs ordinarily are supposed to be cowards, although their size and power are equal to that of other leopards.  Nobody is afraid of them.  Yet this particular animal charged with all the ferocity and determination of the lion, and would certainly have killed or badly mauled my man.[24] To be sure it had been wounded, and had had all night to think about it.

In the relief from the tension we all burst into shrieks of laughter; all except the near-victim of the scrimmage, who managed only a sickly smile.  Our mirth was short.  Out from a thicket over a hundred yards away walked one of the men, who had been in no way involved in the fight, calmly announcing that he had been shot.  We were sceptical, but he turned his back and showed us the bullet hole at the lower edge of the ribs.  One of my bullets, after passing through the cheetah, had ricocheted and picked this poor fellow out from the whole of an empty landscape.  And this after I had delayed my rescue fairly to the point of danger in order to avoid all chance of hurting some one!

We had no means of telling how deeply the bullet had penetrated; so we reassured the man, and detailed two men to assist him back to camp by easy stages.  He did not seem to be suffering much pain, and he had lost little strength.

At camp, however, we found that the wound was deep.  C. generously offered to make a forced march in order to get the boy out to a hospital.  By hitting directly across the rough country below the benches it was possible to shorten the journey somewhat, provided V. could persuade the Masai to furnish a guide.  The country was a desert, and the water scarce.  We lined up our remaining twenty-six men and selected the twelve best and strongest.  These we offered a month and a half’s extra wages for the trip.  We then made a hammock out of one of the ground cloths, and the same afternoon C. started.  I sent with him four of my own men as far as the ox-wagon for the purpose of bringing back more supplies.  They returned the next afternoon bringing also a report from C. that all was well so far, and that he had seen a lion.  He made the desert trip without other casualty than the lost of his riding mule, and landed the wounded man in the hospital all right.  In spite of C.’s expert care on the journey out, and the best of treatment later, the boy, to my great distress, died eleven days after reaching the hospital.  C. was gone just two weeks.