84 



THE ADVENTUMES OF 



before he stopped, as if to reflect. He probably thought he 

 had left something behind, for he quickly disappeared. 



I walked for half an hour through the brake, with eye and 

 ear both on the watch, and my finger on the trigger, without 

 discovering the least evidence of game. My companion did 

 not appear more fortunate than I was, when suddenly a gun 

 went off. At the same time, I saw Sumichrast pointing to 

 a number of squirrels crossing the glade. 



" Have you killed one ?" I asked. 



" Yes ; but it is sticking fast between two branches, sixty 

 feet above the ground ; it is a shot thrown away." 



We watched anxiously the rapid bounds of the graceful 

 little animals which we had just disturbed, as they were 

 fast making their way into the wood. 



" Is PEncuerado asleep ?" I cried, with vexation. 



My question was answered by two shot-reports in suc- 

 cession, and almost immediately Gringalet, PEncuerado, and 

 Lucien emerged from the forest. After searching about 

 for a few minutes, the boy raised up his arm and showed 

 us two squirrels he was holding. We now hastened our 

 steps ; the Indian had taken possession of the game, and 

 was moving on towards our bivouac, while Lucien ran to 

 meet us. 



"Papa, papa !" he cried, all out of breath, " my gun killed 

 one of the squirrels. Oh ! M. Sumichrast, you shall see it ; 

 it is gray, with a tail like a plume." 



"But was it really you that shot ?" I asked. 



" Oh yes ! I shot, but PEncuerado held my gun ; we aim- 

 ed into the middle of them, for there were a great many. 

 If you could only have seen how they jumped ! The one I 

 hit climbed up on the tree close by ; but it soon fell as dead 

 as a stone. L'Encuerado says that it hadn't time to suffer 

 much pain." 



The poor child was making his debut as a sportsman, and 



