THE FIRESIDE AT FAR AWAY. 113 



leston and seed more lies than you could shake a stick at, 

 and one was a stuffed deer a-feedin' with his flag straight 

 up. Wall, ef that didn't make me sick. Sez I to the 

 show-man, ' Mister, I'd jist like to tie you to a deer's tail 

 in Floridy to show you how they carry their tails ; dod 

 rot me if I wouldn't !' " 



" Ha ha ! that is not as bad as my friend the Doctor," 

 I said. 



" You had better stop before you go any further, I 

 warn you," interrupted the Doctor. 



"You must know," I continued, "the Doctor, early 

 one morning in Pensacola, saw two deer feeding in the 

 garrison garden on the old Commodore's pea vines. So 

 he ran down, and imagining that they had come in 

 through the open gate and could not surmount the high 

 picket that surrounded the garden, carefully closed the 

 gate. Then, with his gun in hand, he ran in to call the 

 Commodore to inquire whether he preferred them dead 

 or alive ; but when he returned the deer were half way 

 to the Perdido River." 



" Oh, that is too bad, Doctor !" cried Jackson, as the 

 negroes shouted with fun. 



" No, no," said the Doctor, laughing away, " that is 

 not all of the story. My friend here was there, too, 

 peeping through the palisades over his rifle, when I shut 

 the gate. It was his proposition that I should go in for 

 the Commodore, and as I came back, I heard a cap snap, 

 his gun had missed fire while endeavoring to kill one of 

 the deer, while I was gone." 



