ALONG FOUR-FOOTED TRAILS 



would break through the skin. The frightened 

 mother turned her head and followed every 

 move I made with her great mournful eyes. Her 

 body and limbs trembled and tears rolled down 

 her cheeks. My heart ached for the poor suf- 

 fering creature. Not wishing unnecessarily to 

 distress his suffering mother, I placed the dear 

 little fawn on the ground again. How I longed 

 to make the poor dying doe understand I was 

 a friend and would not harm her or her little 

 ones. But, alas, how could she know? Was it 

 not a human being that for the mere thoughtless 

 sport of taking animal life had brought her to 

 death's door ? And perchance many times in the 

 past she had been shot at and driven for miles 

 and miles over the prairie. Had she not seen 

 many of her companions drop in the chase, never 

 to join the herd? Had she not heard that 

 same harsh sound of the gun ring across the 

 prairie this very morning as one of her compan- 

 ions leaped high in the air, ran a few paces and 

 then fell ? At the same time as she sprang for- 

 ward a second report rang out and something 

 struck her shoulder and pierced her lungs. How 

 she ran with frenzied madness as the sharp pain 

 [38] 



