advkntuk.es of three young naturalists. 209 



While passing from their starting point to the bunch of palmettoes, men- 

 tioned by Paul, our young hunters were nearly, or quite, concealed from 

 their game, but when they emerged from behind this shelter, and were en- 

 deavoring to reach the large log, which, as Paul had judged, was about a 

 hundred yards from the deer, they were in open sight, yet as they were 

 creeping, or rather drawing themselves along, with their bodies as close to the 

 ground as possible, and as it was highly probable that these individual ani- 

 mals had never been approached by human beings in this manner, they were 

 completely puzzled. 



After a moment or two, the boys reached the shelter of the log. Paul 

 now hurriedly whispered to Harry that he would shoot first, and immediate- 

 ly proceeded to push his rifle barrel over the log. As the boys passed out 

 of sight, the buck, alarmed at the near presence of some danger, the evi- 

 dence of which was now invizible, began to show unmistakable signs of fear, 

 and as Paul looked over the log to shoot, he saw the buck pacing up and 

 down in front of the doe and fawn, stamping his foot, tossing his head, and 

 exhibiting other marks of uneasiness. All this tended to make Paul nervous, 

 and as he drew his rifle to his eye to fire, before he could aim, he involun- 

 tarily pulled the trigger, and the ball whistled harmlessly beneath the deer. 

 Although Paul felt instinctively that his ball had not struck the mark, it 

 was difficult for him to believe that he had not shot at least one of the 

 deer, for the effect produced by the discharge of the rifle was most peculiar, 

 The buck, upon hearing the report, had sprung to one side, coming in con- 

 tact with the fawn with such force as to throw it to the ground, directly 

 beneath the feet of the doe, tripping her up. As she fell, the momontum 

 acquired by the buck, also overset him, and he lay sprawling on top of his 

 two companions. Then occurred one of the strangest mingling of hoofs and 

 horns that was ever a hunter's lot to witness. 



Harry, frantic with excitement at such a spectacle, sprang to his feet 

 and shouting at the top of his lungs : 



" Come on, you have killed them all ! " dashed away toward the deer. 

 After going a few steps, he discharged one barrel of his gun into a bunch of 

 zamia which grew at his feet and the other into the tops of the cypress trees. 

 This singular action on the part of Harry, so thoroughly frightened the en- 

 tangled deer that they made some desperate efforts to regain their feet, and 

 after a struggle or two succeeded, then immediately rushed into the swamp. 

 This fact did not deter Harry from continuing the chase ; without the slight- 

 est hesitation he ran. into the knee-deep water of the swamp in track of the 

 frightened animals, calling lustily, 



" Come on, we'll catch them ; we'll catch them," reiterating the cry 

 with every plunge in the deepening water. 



