209 



ind perhaps drove them over to the adjacent territory, 

 md once there they became lawful booty. 



A constant warfare is unceasingly carried on be- 

 tween these two classes of men ; their reciprocal hate 

 never slumbers, any more than their ingenuity in de- 

 vising plans of vengeance against each other. Seven 

 years ago a keeper whose game had suffered consider- 

 ably from repeated depredations, and who had been 

 unable, in spite of all his endeavours, to overtake the 

 marauders, hit upon the following contrivance to work 

 them injury. He knew that when they were out on the 

 mountain they generally took shelter in a certain hut, 

 where they made a fire and cooked their meal. He 

 therefore procured a bomb, filled it with powder, and 

 buried it in the hearth a little way below the surface. 

 He hoped that by the time their schmarren was cooked, 

 and the men were sitting round the fire enjoying its 

 warmth, the glowing embers would have ignited the 

 combustible mass and caused it to explode : cowering 

 as he knew they would be round the blaze, he rightly 

 judged the effects would be tremendous. The forester 

 was disappointed however ; the men came and kindled 

 their fire as usual above the spot where the bomb was 

 hidden, but from some cause or other, from being too 

 deep perhaps, no explosion took place. 



" I '11 take good care they shall not get much here, 

 at least," said Max ; and cocking his rifle, both barrels 

 thundered one after the other, and broke for some 

 minutes the quiet of the still evening scene. " If any 

 game is on my side of the mountain, it will be off now," 



p 



