286 CRUISINGS IX THE CASCADES 



the delicate notch in it and saw the little golden 

 front bead glimmer on the buck's shoulder, the muz- 

 zle of the rifle was as steady and immovable as if 

 screwed in a vice. There was no tremor, no vibra- 

 tion now; and holding well up to the spine and 

 showing the full size of the bead, to allow for the 

 distance, I pressed the trigger. 



At the report the deer bounded into the air as if 

 a dynamite cartridge had exploded under him, and, 

 lowering his head to a line with his body, started 

 to run. There was none of those lofty, airy leaps 

 now, no defiant waving to and fro of the white flag. 

 That emblem was closely furled. His pride was 

 broken and his sole object in life seemed to be to get 

 out of the country as soon as possible. The course 

 he had taken lay along the top of the ridge and I 

 had a fine view of the run from start to finish. He 

 at once began to waver in his course, turning slightly 

 from left to right and from right to left. He 

 stumbled an4 staggered like a blind horse. He ran 

 crashing and smashing into the dead top of a fallen 

 tree, breaking the dry limbs, some of them three or 

 four inches in diameter, as if they had been rye 

 straws. When he had gone as far into this labyrinth 

 of branches as he could get, he sank to the ground 

 as if exhausted, but suddenly rose again, extricated 

 himself by a few desperate struggles to the right, 

 and sped on. He ran squarely against a good-sized 

 sapling with such force as to throw him prostrate 

 upon his side. Still, his great vitality was not spent, 

 and, struggling to his feet, he dashed on again. 

 Next he ran against a log that lay up from the 

 ground some three feet and was set back upon his 



