76 THE RED FOREST AND 



vivacious little friend dropped iny arm and pointed 

 to something in the dense brush. The trees grew 

 so thick here, and interlaced their limbs so closely, 

 that the forest shade was as dark as a summer 

 night, and I could see nothing. My friend gave 

 me little time to look, for clapping his rifle to his 

 shoulder he seemed to take a haphazard shot into 

 the thick of it, and let fly. Then there followed a 

 louder snorting, with the rending of more bushes 

 in hurried flight, and at last I had a glimpse of 

 three dark forms tearing through the covert. One 

 seemed much larger than the others, and at him I 



o / 



fired. To my own astonishment, for the shot was 

 a very hurried one, he lurched forward, evidently 

 hard hit ; but he instantly recovered and went on. 

 I had a faint idea that some one was calling me 

 back, telling me that I ought not to follow a 

 wounded boar in thick covert ; but as my hackles 

 were now fairly up, I crept and ran as well as I 

 could after my wounded game. The other two 

 guns made for various rides to cut off any of the 

 three boars that might come their way. Once or 

 twice I viewed my beast for a moment, but never 

 well enough to fire in my cramped position. 



Meanwhile, the forester had been making what 

 he called music on his everlasting horn, and some 

 of his hounds hearing it were soon on the track of 

 the game. Hot, breathless, and almost in the dark, 

 among the nearly impenetrable thickets, I was on 



