THE VIRGINIA DEER. 195 



my rifle, fired without taking aim, and, as the hounds 

 swept by, I heard the splash of the Deer as he plunged into 

 the bayou. The packs were together, with Jeff and Zeb 

 close behind. I told them to follow the dogs, and then, 

 getting my horse from the thicket where he was tied, joined 

 the chase, accompanied by the Doctor, who had heard the 

 noise and come over to see what had been the result of my 

 shot. 



Far across the bayou the voices of dogs and men were 

 growing fainter; but our horses were fresher than either 

 Deer or dogs, and we hoped to be in at the death. Before 

 reaching the water we saw blood, which gave us hope. The 

 bayou was shallow; nevertheless, we were well soaked when 

 we emerged on the opposite bank. And now there was no 

 longer a beaten track to follow. Stout creepers threatened 

 to sweep us from our steeds; fallen trunks invited a fall; 

 marshy holes were all about us; but we kept on rifle in one 

 hand, reins in the other. First a branch knocked off the 

 Doctor's hat; a moment later, mine followed suit. White 

 foam crept out from beneath the saddle-blankets. So we 

 rode, regardless of everything but Deer and hounds. 



The swamp was finally passed, the hill was climbed, and 

 we were riding along the ridge, when the noises that we fol- 

 lowed stopped. Then came the fire-cracker-like report of 

 Jeff' s revolver. 



"It's all up with us," said the Doctor; "we may as well 

 let ' em walk the rest of the way. ' ' 



The horses were in for sport, however, as well as we 

 and the hounds, and would not slacken until the end of the 

 chase. 



It was a hot late-summer afternoon. Down among the 

 creepers, in a little glade, lay the Deer. The dogs were 

 resting under the trees. With loosened girths and dripping- 

 flanks, the horses wandered in the shade. Our freedmen 

 were lazily smoking away the mosquitoes. The day's hunt- 

 ing was over. 



I had held low, and the ball, inflicting a slight wound 

 just above the knee, had ranged forward so as to expose a 



