10 THE HUNTER AND TEAPPEE. 



air at a great i^ace. The ground over which he ran was 

 hilly and covered with oak brush, and the ohl buck made 

 for the chimps of brushwood to wipe the rider oif, if pos- 

 sible. But John had learned something, too : he found 

 the buck's horns, that lie back on his neck when he runs, 

 to be of use, not only to hold on by, but to guide his 

 beast, and now they came to the top of a steep hill, clear 

 of brush for a distance, while near the bottom was a thick 

 clump of brushwood. Now John expected his death, and 

 commenced to pull on the old buck's liorns to turn him 

 around. To his great joy he succeeded in turning him, and 

 when they got to the foot of the hill, the buck was so dis- 

 heartened, that he stood still. John vforked one hand into 

 his pocket, got out a small knife, opened it with his teeth, 

 and reached around and cut the buck's throat ; and he 

 sat there, until down he went, and up came George, both 

 as highly gratified as ever two boys were; but some 

 time was spent in hunting up the gun that Avas buried in 

 the snow. 



The deer is afraid only when there is real danger. He 

 is not afraid of you when you are at work driving tenm, 

 or hoeing or chopping ; but take a gun and begin to poke 

 about, and you will find him oif. I once saw a yearling 

 doe standing far out in a forsaken field. I had no gun 

 and no means of killing it. There was a little snow on 

 the ground, which had a crust on it in the open field. My 

 attention was called to the deer by a neighbor's dog, which 

 stood barking at it. I had just stepped out of my shop 



