chap. xi. DIABOLICAL DEATH OF ' MERRTMAN: 275 



the kennel, with the exception of Merriman. I was 

 rather anxious at his absence, as he knew the whole 

 country so thoroughly that he should have been one 

 of the first dogs to return. I was convinced that the 

 buck had been at bay in the large river, as I had seen 

 his tracks in several places on the banks, with dog 

 tracks in company ; this, added to the fact of the two 

 stray dogs being found in the vicinity, convinced me 

 that they had brought the elk to bay in the river, in 

 which I imagined he had beaten the dogs off. Two 

 or three days passed away without Merriman's return ; 

 and, knowing him to be the leading hound of the pack, 

 I made up my mind that he had been washed down a 

 waterfall and killed. 



About a week after this had happened, a native 

 came up from the low country with the intelligence 

 that the dogs had brought the buck to bay in the river 

 close to the village of Perewelle, and that the inhabit- 

 ants had killed the elk and driven the dogs away. The 

 remaining portion of this man's story filled me with 

 rage and horror. Merriman would not leave the body 

 of the elk : the natives thought that the dog might be 

 discovered in their village, which would lead to the 

 detection of the theft of the elk ; they, therefore, tied 

 this beautiful hound to a tree, knocked his brains out 

 with a hatchet, and threw his body into the river. This 

 dog was a favourite with everyone who knew the pack. 

 The very instant that I heard the intelligence, I took 



