THE DEER HUNT. 65 



fixed on that flying buck, and the trees merged together in a mass 

 as we swept among them. Whoop ! why cannot a man cheer 

 louder ; why cannot a horse fly faster when a deer is in view ? 

 There is a crash and a flash of dirt and sticks ; the sorrel has gone 

 down, and her rider rolled over and over, and far ahead of his 

 steed. There is no time to see if he can get up again. Hurrah ! 

 there is a hummock ! See Tiger and Bess turn to the left ! They 

 know the buck will not run through it, and they turn aside to cut 

 the radius of the arc he is about to make. He sees the plan and 

 accelerates his speed. His horns are lying on his back, his nose 

 in air ; he is stretching away at his highest speed, and whenever a 

 bush intercepts his flight, he leaps it with a bound that must give 

 him a bird's-eye view of his pursuers. 



Far ahead of the deer grew a close swamp, and from the 

 straight line the deer was making we knew he was looking to it 

 for refuge. Behind, I heard Jackson calling to us, but who could 

 stop to listen with such a buck in view ? On we went, the dogs 

 still nearer the deer, and Tiger almost within reach of his haunches. 

 Lou Jackson held one rein in each hand, her eyes fixed on the 

 chase, and her hair flying loose behind her. There goes the deer 

 in the bushes ; he touched a log here and a bog there, and along he 

 went like a rope-dancer. Tally ho ! On went the dogs, when, to 

 my surprise, Tiger disappeared from view, and in a second of time 

 the whole pack were floundering in the morass. " Hold hard ! " I 

 heard again from behind. * Hold hard, Miss Jackson ! " I screamed, 

 as the truth flashed on me. " The quicksands ! " Too late ; her 

 horse was wild with the chase, and she could not hold him. He 

 made one or two desperate leaps as he found himself floundering, 

 and in a second of time was half ingulfed in the mud. His rider 

 still held the reins and kept her seat on the struggling horse. The 

 Doctor was in equal plight, while his frightened beast pawed the 

 air in its attempts to regain a footing. My horse, more used to 

 such ground, turned short around when he felt it quaking, throw- 

 ing me in the edge of the mud like a clown in a circus. Up came 

 Mike as fast as he could ride, and Jackson behind him. 



Mike threw himself from his horse, and while the others were 

 cutting sticks to throw to the ingulfed riders, ran out by quick 



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