THE DEEE HUNT. 99 



back again to cover. " Golly mighty, wouln't dat cat 

 get shook up yah ha, yah ha he !" 



Now the hounds broke out in chorus, with a multitu- 

 dinous cry that babbled in the bushes and wailed in the 

 air, as though the echoes caught the sound and mellowed 

 it down to a continuous accord. Scipio felt the conta- 

 gion, and dancing up and down, relieved himself as fol- 

 lows : 



"Dar dey come! dar dey come! Bress de Lord! 

 don't dey skin 'em dat beats dis child ; hy ah ha, hy 

 ah ha ! go it Music !" 



The dogs had come halfway down the cover, when a 

 buck and doe broke out together. He did not appear 

 to be of unusual size ; but I could not wait any longer, 

 and fired. He fell and rose again, running over the 

 brow of a little hill with his tail down ; here he 

 drew the fire of my neighbor on the right, and fell to 

 rise no more. The doe halted a moment where her com- 

 rade fell, as if waiting for him to rise, when away 

 down the woods a rifle rung its sharp crack and she fell 

 like a clod almost on the body of her mate. I knew 

 Mike's rifle by the effect, even if I did not know its 

 sound. 



The hounds came closer ; we could see the grass and 

 bushes moving where they were winding about, and 

 now and then their sickle-shaped tails above the weeds. 

 The clamor increased, the dogs were almost through, 

 and yet no white buck to correspond with the negro's 

 description of the big buck they had so often hunted. 



