A CRAZY OX 5 



fight. Out we went, and we were looking for the bull when the 

 drover, who was with us, cried out suddenly, " Here he comes ! " 

 There was a small clump of fir-trees near, with a low rail round 

 it ; Knyvet and Duruset soon scrambled over the rail, and were 

 fighting through the bushes for a tree. Underneath the 

 brambles there was a hidden ditch, into which Knyvet fell and 

 got cast on his back ; while Duruset, more active, reached the 

 tree, and its boughs being like a ladder, up he went, and when 

 he found himself safe, and saw that Knyvet was in the ditch, he 

 sang at him every scrap from every opera or song he was con- 

 versant with, that he thought would fit his predicament. I had a 

 double gun with a rolling ball in each barrel ; and with a view 

 to drop the beef as clean as I would venison, as the bullock 

 passed us for it was not at us that he was running I shot at 

 his head and missed him. " Dang it," said the drover, " you 

 can't shoot ; give me the gun." This nettled me, and I put the 

 second bullet through the animal's body; it sickened the ox, 

 and he stopped; and, reloading, I walked out upon him, and 

 shot him through the head. By this time, and having heard a 

 cry from the treed Duruset that " the curtain had dropped upon 

 the bull," Knyvet extricated himself and arose, and asked 

 Duruset " how he could be such a coward as to climb into a 

 tree ? " No answer. " Come down," said Knyvet ; " danger's 

 all over, and let's go up to the bull." No answer, but quantities 

 of the scaly bark and dust of the tree kept falling down ; on 

 this Knyvet looked up, and saw Duruset looking down and 

 behind him, with his hands firmly clasped round the stem of 

 the fir. The fact was that he was totally unused to climbing, 

 and in coming down he had got across one of the boughs, and 

 could not tell how to be rid of it ; there it stuck out like a 

 peacock's tail from beneath his coat, in motion, and waving as 

 if it was a part of him. " Knyvet," cried Duruset, " can you 

 see what I've got under me that stops my coming downstairs ? " 

 " Oh yes," cried Knyvet, " I can see ; you're there for life, my 

 dear fellow, if they don't send for a saw." On this Knyvet 

 began singing all sorts of things at Duruset that he thought 



