238 WILD SCENES AND WILD HUNTERS. 
carelessness of the sign they left, entirely unconscious of his 
proximity. He had followed on in this manner for several 
miles, taking care to expose his body as little as possible, and 
indeed, advancing from tree to tree all the time, as if ina 
bush fight. 
The sudden whistle of a deer, followed instantly by the 
ring of two rifles close on his left, gave him warning that the 
time for business had come. The Indians kept close, and as 
he was peeping cautiously round a tree, endeavoring to get a 
sight of them, a rifle ball from the right whizzed through the 
heavy mass of black hair that fell down over his shoulders, 
stinging his neck sharply as it grazed past. He crouched 
instantly, and all was as still as death for a long time, for 
the two on the left had taken the hint, and lay close, while 
the Indian on the right did the same, while he reloaded and 
watched for another chance. 
Here was a fix certainly for any common man, beleaguered 
on two sides, and it might be on every side for all he could 
tell. But from what is known of Harrod’s character, I have 
no doubt he enjoyed the fix; for it was just such a oné as 
he delighted to get himself into, for the pleasure of getting 
himself out again. 
The foot of the tree at which he crouched was surrounded 
by bushes or shrubs about three feet high, and he was obliged 
to lift his head above these before he could fire. He wore 
his famous wolf-skin cap, as usual; and after waiting till he 
was convinced that there was no chance of getting a sight of 
the cautious foe, he placed it upon the muzzle of his rifle, 
and, after some prefatory manceuvring among the shrubs, to 
show that he was getting restless, gradually and cautiously 
elevated the cap. 
The ring of the three rifles was almost simultaneous, as it 
rose a little above the bushes, and before the echoes had died 
away, the death-shriek of the warrior on the right followed 
thera into the shadows. Harrod lay still for a long time 
