OUR HUMBLE HELPERS 



rush to seize it by the ears ; it disperses them with 

 a few vigorous blows from its snout, dealt with 

 startling promptness. Some fall back with belly 

 split open, from which the entrails protrude and 

 catch on the bushes; others have a leg broken, a 

 shoulder dislocated, or at least one or two flesh 

 wounds. The dying stretch their legs in the last 

 convulsions of agony, the wounded howl with pain, 

 the least crippled beat a hasty retreat. But rein- 

 forcements arrive, bringing back the fugitives to 

 the charge. Then, from the midst of the thicket, an 

 indescribable uproar is heard. To the cries of the 

 pack, howling, barking, and growling in various 

 keys, and to the wild boar's grunts of rage, are 

 added the crashing sound of underbrush broken in 

 the fierce scrimmage and the shrill notes of the mag- 

 pies that have flown in all haste to the scene of tu- 

 mult and from the surrounding tree-tops noisily 

 discuss the event. Finally the boar emerges from 

 the thicket and, drunk with carnage, takes its turn as 

 pursuer. Woe then to the inexperienced hunter 

 who loses his presence of mind or whose shot misses 

 its mark : he might forfeit his life for his unwariness 

 and lack of skill. But let us hope that a bullet, clev- 

 erly aimed between the beast's eyes, will put an end 

 to a battle that has already cost the lives of the best 

 dogs in the pack." 



"I see that this is no tame rabbit-hunt, " said 

 Jules. "If any one should come within reach of the 

 fierce brute that the dogs are worrying, he would not, 

 as they say, have much of a picnic." 



