OUE CHRISTMAS DINNER. 145 



was determined to incur no risk I could avoid, but have 

 patience until I had a certainty of killing him in his tracks. 

 At last he stopped to browse in a little open, oval table- 

 land, on the summit of a cedar ridge. 



" The ridge-top was nowhere over a hundred yards across, 

 and was surrounded with a thick fringe of dwarf cedars. 

 Peeping through one of these dwarf cedars, I could see 

 the deer's broad fat quarters about forty yards in front 

 of me. The buck was slowly walking from where I stood 

 concealed. I put my cap in a fork of the cedar, laid my 

 rifle-barrel on it, brought its stock to my shoulder, and 

 bleated like a doe. 



" The big buck stopped, turned his body half-round, 

 his head wholly so, and looked straight towards me with 

 his head down. 



"I drew a careful bead between his eyes, and dropped 

 him stone dead ! 



" I ran up to bleed him, feeling quite relieved and glad 

 at so successful a termination of ten hours' difficult hunting. 

 I had not noticed it while engrossed by the interest of pur- 

 suit, but now found I was very hungry, and so lit a fire 

 at once, that there might be roasting-coals ready by the time 

 I had skinned my deer. 



" I was soon enjoying a jolly rib-roast, making a 

 tremendous meal, and recruiting myself for the tramp of 

 from twelve to fifteen miles lying between me and the 

 camp." 



So after all, we had our Christmas dinner according to 

 programme, and a capital one it was, too. 



The turkeys were d merveille, the venison delicious ! 



