or so behind him, while Retief said:

"One for our side."

Pereira loaded again, and just as he had capped his rifle three more
geese, also flying low, came over, preceded by a number of ducks,
passing straight above us, as they 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."