MEETING WITH POACHERS. 217 



hurled down from above, he could not have been more 

 startled ; and no wonder : he thought himself alone, and 

 suddenly his solitude is disturbed by two armed men, ri- 

 sing seemingly out of the earth and springing upon him. 

 " Kreutz ! Himmel ! Donner Wetter ! Himmel Sa- 

 crament!" he screamed with fright and terror, and 

 dashed at a bound behind a bush not a dozen paces from 

 where we stood. 



"Lay down your rifle, or by Heaven I'll fire!" I 

 cried, raising my rifle to my shoulder and moving to- 

 ward the bush, though in reality it was so thick I could 

 not see any part of him. He knew his advantage, and 

 cowering close did not speak or move. With the ex- 

 ception of the bush where the poacher lay hidden, all 

 around was bare as the palm of my hand. My whole 

 person was exposed had he liked to fire, and I was close 

 to him. But there was no bravery in this ; for the danger 

 and folly of standing thus unprotected never once oc- 

 curred to me. When it did, I slowly changed my posi- 

 tion. I saw Berger a few paces further back, partly pro- 

 tected by the brow of the mountain, and this reminded 

 me of what I ought to do. I therefore retreated some 

 steps, keeping my front towards the bush and my rifle 

 ready. I had just reached the ridge, when from the am- 

 phitheatre of rock — from that horrid abyss of crag and 

 precipice — loud shouts were heard : they broke strangely 

 upon the silence, and at the moment I did not compre- 

 hend what they were. 



" The others are coming !" cried Berger ; " there are 

 seven of them — they have seen us — quick, into the lats- 

 chen ! — follow me \" 



I looked at the bush and felt sorry to leave it with- 

 out driving the game from its hiding-place ; but Berger 

 quickened me, by bidding me come along, for there was 



