404 THE ADIRONDACK. 



of him. To this he assented ; and feeling no longer 

 any inducement to keep on the watch, I slid down to 

 the bottom of the boat, and, leaning my head on the 

 bow, and laying my rifle across my lap, prepared for a 

 doze. I told John I thought I should take a nap, and, 

 if a deer should make for the lake, to waken me. He 

 promised to do so, and in a few minutes I was sound 

 asleep. But alas ! John was quite as much fagged out 

 by the previous day's tramp as I was, and, leaning over 

 the gunwale, was soon as oblivious of hounds and deer 

 as myself. How long we two slumbered I do not know, 

 but John was the first to awake, and roused me with 

 the quick cry : " There goes the deer /" The next moment 

 the boat seemed to jump from beneath me, as his oars 

 fell into the water. " Where ?" I exclaimed. He sim- 

 ply gave his head a jerk in the direction, as he bent to 

 his oars. Looking across the water, I could just see 

 the head of a buck in the distance, making for a thickly 

 wooded island far down the lake. I saw at once that 

 the odds were rather against us in the race ; still, swift 

 rowing might head him off, and laying down my rifle, I 

 seized the paddle and bent to the work. The light boat 

 flew like a bird over the water, and with every stroke 

 the head of the deer showed plainer, and our distance 



