HUNTING IN THE OPEN AND IN TIMBER. 21? 



to the left, cross the neck of the ridge at the head of 

 it, and cross the next little gulch. That will put you 

 on this side of the ridge that terminates in the point 

 you wish to reach. 



By the aid of the cattle-trails you reach at last the 

 point quietly and with ease. Peering cautiously over 

 it you see three slim sleek bodies, gray and glossy, 

 lying side by side in domestic peace. There are two 

 fawns lying with their heads over on their sides. The 

 mother lies beside them with head upraised, chewing 

 her cud and watching. 



It is a pity to mar such peaceful happiness. But you 

 may not feel so bad about it afterward; so try it. 



Bang ! goes your rifle; and like steel springs released 

 from pressure the three deer bound in three differ- 

 ent directions. There is no rising or getting up. 

 There is only one simultaneous bump of hoofs and all 

 three stand twenty feet apart, all like statues and all 

 looking in different directions. 



Bang ! goes another shot. Bump go twelve hoofs 

 again, almost at once. And there they all stand again, 

 a little farther apart than before, and all looking. 



Bang ! goes another shot, and the ball with a chug 

 splinters the bark from a live-oak just above the doe's 

 back. The three deer give a start, trot a few steps, 

 then huddle up all together, and look again. 



At the bang ! of another shot the three dart from the 

 common center a single bound, stop and look a minute, 

 then run a few yards in an inquiring way here and 

 there, then huddle up again. And so they go on, get- 

 ing farther and farther away, until the magazine of 

 your rifle is empty. And by the time you can put in 

 another cartridge they are vanishing softly in different 

 directions, each on a soft springy trot. 



