210 CHAMOIS HUNTING. 



came down from the Roth Wand on your road to the 

 Solachers'. Well, when he came here he stopped to 

 load his gun ; while he was doing so — it was dusk 

 already — he thought, as there was no knowing what 

 might happen, he would load one barrel with shot : so 

 in one barrel he put a ball, and a handful of shot in 

 the other. He then sat down among the bushes to 

 watch if any one came, for he fancied it was not un- 

 likely that the fellows he had met on the mountain 

 might take that path downward, and if so, they would 

 then have to cross the narrow plank, and as they came 

 on he might give them another welcoming. He had 

 sat about an hour when he heard voices ; they came 

 nearer, and presently he saw men across the water, and 

 could just make out that they all were armed. That's 

 right, he thought, they are the same; and when near, 

 just as they were all crowded together, about to cross 

 the bridge, he fired his shot-barrel into the midst of 

 them. You may suppose their consternation, after hav- 

 ing had two of their comrades shot on the mountain 

 without seeing who it was that fired, now in the dark- 

 ness to have the same thing happen once more. K — 

 went leisurely through the bushes, and walked quietly 

 home j but they were terrified almost out of their senses, 

 and did not know what to do, for they never thought 

 themselves safe, and could not tell if another shot might 

 not come peppering in among them a moment after." 



"Did he kill one with the last shot?" I asked. 



" No ; he said he heard quite well the shot falling 

 among them after he fired. He hit one only in the 

 breast; of course he wounded him badly, but the man 

 recovered/' 



" And the two he shot on the mountain ? " 



" One only was dead — the first he fired at ; he fell di- 



