46 BUCK FEVER. 



draws his head, and the self-satisfied look he turns towards 

 me, I can tell he has sighted something. Crawling quickly 

 up alongside him, on peering over I have the satisfaction of 

 seeing four gooral browsing unconcernedly on a grassy slope 

 among some broken masses of rock directly below us. Being 

 a tyro at mountain shooting, I am suddenly seized with a 

 severe attack of what, in the backwoods of America, I have 

 heard termed " buck fever " ; so without taking time to judge 

 the distance, or to allow my fast-throbbing pulses to subside, 

 I raise the rifle and let drive at the nearest animal. The 

 result is, of course, what might be expected under such cir- 

 cumstances a clean miss of an easy shot. The gooral, 

 however, from the fact, I suppose, of their not having been 

 recently disturbed, are only startled, and stand gazing about 

 them as if undecided as to what course they should pursue. 

 This serves only to augment my complaint, causing me to 

 fire the second barrel almost at random, when the animals, 

 being no longer in doubt, make off. The bear-slayer's look of 

 satisfaction now gives place to one of bitter disappointment 

 and ill-concealed contempt for my performance, and on his 

 face I can plainly read that which, if he could only have 

 given vent to his thoughts, in modern English might have 

 been, " Well, you are a duffer ! " But there is still another 

 chance, for one of the beasts, a fine buck, not even yet seem- 

 ing quite satisfied of his danger, bounds up on to the point of 

 a projecting crag, where he stands balancing himself on all 

 four feet planted close together, sneezing out his warning 

 note. Drawing back under cover, I recharge my old muzzle- 

 loader as quickly as my trembling hands will permit, whilst 

 the shikaree remains impatiently watching our game. On 

 again looking over, I find the buck has moved up nearer us, 

 and is now within fifty yards. This time I take a more care- 

 ful aim, and on the smoke clearing away, I have the delight 

 of seeing the gooral rolling down the precipitous hillside, 

 until stopped by some rocks below. 



