CHAPTER XXIX. 



The Avitching hour of Iwiliulit h;i(l c-oiiie, when tlie 

 timid deer descend the mountains ,:ind emeri;e from the for 

 est to shxka their thirst and feed ujjon the succulent lily- 

 pads and tender grasses growini:: in tlie coves and bays of 

 the river. AV^iile I was sisated in the l)ow of the Itoat, my 

 guide silently paddled in the stern; and we tloated on, 

 winding our way with the tortuous stream, with every 

 sense keenly alive and watchrul for the tirst sign of the 

 l»resence of a deer. Darkness stealthily descended, and the 

 rifle w^as laid aside for the long, double-barreled, mu/,zle- 

 loading, ten-bore shot gun belonging to one of our guides. 

 A gentle tremor of the boat at length arrested my attention, 

 and my guide whispered, "I think there's a deer in the 

 river, down there; do you sec anything?" 



"No," I responded, after an eager and in-olongcd gaze 

 in the direction indicated. 



'' U yon a-t'ii (in i/fki /iff, Are at it," said he. IJut to save 

 my life I couldn't see "anything" but dark shades on the 

 obscured water. Suddenly, as we advanced, there was a. 

 splashing and dashing in the river, four or live rods ahead 

 of us, and I saw, apparently, a small, dirty, white hand- 

 kerchief jerked and switched rapidly about from one side 

 of the shalloAV river to the other and l)ack again toward 

 the shore where it first ai)peared, and the tlim Hashing of 



