278 RIVER BY 



a bite of grass, says the sportsman, without first put- 

 ting his nose to it, and then instantly raising his 

 head and looking about. 



In about ten minutes the deer had approached 

 within fifty yards of the gunner; then the murder- 

 ous instinct of the latter began to assert itself. His 

 gun was loaded with fine shot, but he dared not 

 make a move to change his shells lest the deer see 

 him. He had one shell loaded with No. 4 shot in 

 his pocket. Oh ! if he could only get that shell into 

 his gun. 



The unsuspecting deer kept approaching ; presently 

 he passed behind a big tree, and his head was for 

 a moment hidden. The hunter sprang to his work ; 

 he took one of the No. 8 shells out of his gun, got 

 his hand into his pocket, and grasped the No. 4. 

 Then the shining eyes of the deer were in view again. 

 The hunter stood in this attitude five minutes. How 

 we ( wish he had been compelled to stand for five 

 hundred ! 



Then another tree shut off the buck's gaze for a 

 moment ; in went the No. 4 shell into the barrel and 

 the gun was closed quickly, but there was no time to 

 bring it to the shoulder. The animal was now only 

 thirty yards away. His hair was smooth and glossy, 

 and every movement was full of grace and beauty. 

 Time after time he seemed to look straight at the 

 hunter, and once or twice a look of suspicion seemed 

 to cross his face. 



The man began to realize how painful it was to 

 stand perfectly still on the top of a log for fifteen 



