A BEARDLESS SPORT 205 



his memory is so far dethroned that he forgets he has 

 a rifle. If he does remember it, and attempts to raise 

 the weapon to his shoulder, there is nothing in it that 

 is likely to do any damage to the buck, for its wabbling 

 muzzle sends the ball either into the earth or among 

 the clouds. Of course the buck bounds away, utterly 

 unconscious of the excitement its presence has caused. 

 Its instinct, however, may suggest that a buck's life 

 is never in danger from the ball of a wabbling rifle. 



'Twas in 1894 that the " buck ague " attacked my 

 boy, who was then sixteen years of age. The attack 

 was a severe one — quite severe enough to allow the 

 cause of it to bound away without injury to its limbs 

 or vitals. 



We were camped on Eagle Lake in Maine, and I 

 will now tell how the queer disease got its hold upon 

 the youth. He was in a canoe with his guide, pad- 

 dling along without any immediate hope of a chance 

 to use his rifle. A point of land jutted into the lake, 

 and as the canoe rounded it, the boy saw a beautiful 

 buck standing upon the bank and gazing at the boat 

 with wondering eyes and head erect. The animal was 

 within easy rifle shot and should have paid a life pen- 

 alty for its rash confidence and curiosity. 



But it didn't. The buck fever had gotten hold of 

 the youth's nerves, and his chattering teeth told 

 plainly how firm the hold was. He did manage to 

 raise his rifle, but when he tried to point it in the 



