ey must do owing to the shape of the gap
between the land waves of the veld above through which they flighted.
Pereira shot, and to my surprise, the second, not the first, bird fell,
also a good way behind him.

"Did you shoot at that goose, or the other, nephew?" asked Retief.

"At that one for sure," he answered with a laugh.

"He lies," muttered the Hottentot; "he shot at the first and killed the
second."

"Be silent," I answered. "Who would lie about such a thing?"

Again Pereira loaded. By the time that he was ready more geese were
approaching, this time in a triangle of seven birds, their leader being
at the point of the triangle, which was flying higher than those that
had gone before. He fired, and down came not one bird, but two, namely,
the captain and the goose to the right of and a little behind it.

"Ah! uncle," exclaimed Pereira, "did you see those birds cross each
other as I pulled? That was a lucky one for me, but I won't count the
second if the Heer Allan objects."

"No, I did not, nephew," answered Retief, "but doubtless they must have
done so, or the same bullet could not have pierced both."

Both Hans and I only looked at each other and laughed. Still we said
nothing.

From the spectators under the cliff there came a murmur of
congratulation not unmixed with astonishment. Again Pereira loaded,
aimed, and loosed at a rather high goose--it may have been about seventy
yards in the air. He struck it right enough, for the feathers flew from
its breast; but to my astonishment the bird, after swooping down as
though it were going to fall, recovered itself and flew away straight
out of sight.

"Tough birds, these geese!" exclaimed Pereira. "They can carry as much
lead as a sea-cow."

"Very tough indeed," answered Retief doubtfully. "Never before did I see
a bird fly away with an ounce ball through its middle."

"Oh! he will drop dead somewhere," replied Pereira as he rammed his
powder down.

Within four minutes more Pereira had fired his two remaining shots,
selecting, as he was entitled to do, low and easy young geese that came
over him slowly. He killed them both, although the last of them, after
falling, waddled along the ground into a tuft of high grass.

Now murmurs of stifled applause broke from the audience, to which
Pereira bowed in acknowledgment.

"You will have to shoot very well, Mynheer Allan," said Retief to me,
"if you want to beat that. Even if I rule out one of the two bir