ADVENTURES OF THREE TCUNG NATURALISTS. 207 



CHAPTER IV. 

 HOW PAUL DID NOT GET HIS FIRST DEER. 



Ail of our party were up the next morning before the sun had pushed 

 his shining face out of the broad Atlantic. Already Joe had cooked the 

 bodies of the quail shot the day before ; these and baked sweet potatoes con- 

 stituted a morning's meal, not to be despised anywhere. 



The repast concluded, the boys were not long in getting ready for another 

 trip, and soon all were walking along a narrow footpath, which bordered a 

 line of prairies that stretched along the Miami River until it made its way 

 out of that immense, wide-spread marsh, known as the Everglades. The 

 wind was blowing from the west, soft and balmy, for it came across the level 

 marshlands from the far-away Gulf of Mexico. 



Although it was early in February, flowers were blooming in profusion, 

 and the green grass on either side of the path was enlivened with their bril- 

 liant hues. Masses of fleecy clouds hung lew in the blue sky to the west- 

 ward, the remnants of some far off thunder storm, which at this season lie 

 over the waters of the gulf. The mellow whistle of the bluebird came to 

 the ear from the neighboring pine woods and mingled with the louder, wild- 

 er notes ot the Florida meadow larks, as they rose from the grass and bal- 

 anced themselves on the tops of the tall thistles in front of the party as 

 they proceeded rapidly on their way towards the Everglades, while away to 

 the westward, from the marshes behind some distant cypress swamps, came 

 the harsh notes of the sandhill crane, but softened by distance, they harmo- 

 nized well with the more melodious notes near at hand. 



Our friends proceeded along the path in silence, even the usually irre- 

 pressable spirits of George were subdued, and no one uttered a sound, for 

 upon starting, the Professor had informed the boys that if they kept quiet 

 they might obtain a shot at a deer when they came to the cypress swamps 

 that bordered the Everglades. 



Hence it was that the boys, although overflowing with life and elastic- 

 ity of spirit, of one accord silently followed in the footsteps of the Profes- 

 sor, who, with the well-trained step of one accustomed to the life of a hun- 

 ter, was covering the ground with great rapidity. After pushing on in this 

 way for about an hour, they perceived the open country before them. 



Here a consultation was held, and it was decided that Professor Hall 

 and George should proceed in a north-westerly direction, while Paul and 

 Harry were to follow along the margin of the river ; when both parties 

 reached the marshes, they were to turn toward each other and thus meet. 

 Paul and Harry, whom we shall follow for a time, had gone about a mile, 

 when they perceived a small cypress swamp in advance of them, recognizable 



