FOUR SURPRISES AT ONCE. 



JACK WOOD. 



At 5.30 on a cool November morning, I 

 took my new 30-30 and started to make a 

 tour of the fields around the edge of the 

 woods, in hope to sight a deer. 



On my return I glanced toward the house 

 and caught sight of a man waving his arms, 

 it was Jim. 



My legs were lame and my feet sore from 

 tramping through the woods, but you 

 would not have suspected it had you seen 

 me sprinting down that road. I reached 

 the house pretty well winded, and found 

 Jim peering at something down in the field 

 in the valley. He had his old -short bar- 

 reled rifle in his hand. 



"There are 2 deer down there," he said, 

 "one of them has just gone behind that 

 knoll, but the other one is over there by 

 that big rock. Do you see him ?" 



"Yes," I said, and as I looked the deer 

 raised its head and stood facing us. We 

 remained perfectly quiet, and after a long 

 look around, the animal dropped its head 

 and went on feeding. 



"It was no use for me to fire at them," 

 said Jim. "My old rifle would not carry 

 down there. I had been looking for you 

 some time when I happened to see you 

 crossing the road up there." 



Fifty feet distant, back of the house, was 

 a fence. I started for it, but the deer looked 

 up. I halted and scarcely breathed until 

 it again lowered its head. 



I reached the fence and dropped behind 

 it. As I did so the deer turned broadside 

 to me. Ten seconds later I had raised the 

 sight of my rifle one notch, rested the muz- 

 zle of the weapon on a pole of the fence, 

 and was sighting at a point midway the 

 length of the deer. Then I fired. 



I .had shot my rifle but few times and 

 did not know how to sight it above 100 

 yards, consequently I was not greatly sur- 

 prised to see the deer jump and run for 

 the woods. 



"Missed!" I thought. "Hang the luck!" 

 But a second later I saw him come to a 

 walk and stagger. 



'He's hit!" cried Jim. 



I began to think so myself, and soon saw 

 the deer drop. 



Then you should have seen the running 

 down that valley. My lameness was for- 

 gotten. Jim is a long legged fellow and I 

 am short, but I was not a great way be- 

 hind him when he got to the deer. 



"By gosh, it's a buck, and he's a dandy, 

 too \" he said as I came up. 



Here were 2 surprises for me ; first, that 

 I had hit the animal at all, and second, 

 that it was a buck. But another surprise 

 awaited me. 



Oi course I was greatly elated and fairly 

 bubbled over in my exuberance of spirit ; 

 but I tried hard not to show it. I wanted 

 to give Jim the impression that it was an 

 easy matter for me to drop deer at 300 

 yards, measured. 



We began hunting for the bullet hole. I 

 had expected to find the deer badly torn 

 by the soft nose bullet, but we had to 

 hunt some time to find the wound; and 

 then my third surprise came in that the 

 bullet had not mushroomed a particle. It 

 made a round, clean hole where it entered 

 just back of the shoulder, another where 

 it came out. Not a drop of blood could be 

 seen. 



Jim cleaned the animal. Then came my 

 4th surprise. My bullet, we found, had 

 passed through the heart and the deer had 

 bled inside profusely. 



I returned to the city a few days later 

 and the butcher who cut up the deer for me 

 said it was the finest piece of venison 

 he had ever seen ; the meat around the bul- 

 let hole was scarcely discolored. 



I want to know why that bullet, a Win- 

 chester, did not mushroom. I had been led 

 to believe that a soft nose bullet expanded 

 on impact with a substance whether hard 

 or soft. 



I want to go East again next fall and I 

 wish to use a bullet in my 30-30 that will 

 expand when it strikes a deer or larger 

 game. Can anyone tell me of such ? 



Book Agent — Uncle, I'd like to sell you a 

 new cyclopedia. 



Uncle Swayback — Wa-al, young feller, 

 I'd like ter hev one, but I'm afraid I'm too 

 old to ride the blame thing. — Judge. 



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