THE TWO PRINCES ! A GAME FOR LIFE. 
223 
sode of a hunt, he could no longer resist the temptation, and was 
about to betray us, when an express prohibition just in time warned 
him not to open his mouth before I spoke. It may be conceived 
what an interest I felt, then quite a young hunter, in following to 
the end and without spoiling any thing by a foolish haste, the 
least incident of this drama ; to see the instinct and cunning of this 
brave creature, playing a game for its life with that hunter whose 
brilliant reputation I had heard so often boasted without yet hav- 
ing had an opportunity to appreciate it. Neutral on the ground 
of 'this contest, I ought to respect the plan of defense which I had 
accidentally witnessed, otherwise my part would have been that 
of a denouncing spy, and I felt it nobler and worthier to sustain 
that of judge. The dog, however, still at the bottom of the fosse, 
opened still more decidedly, and this time his companion, who till 
then had only snuffed about, began to embellish the concert with 
some pretty full notes. 
The prince again dismounted, hitched his horse to a stake, and 
jumping into the water, began attentively to search for traces. He 
had not taken ten steps before a shout of joy proved to us that his 
quest was not in vain ; the two griffons, now united, seemed to say 
the same thing. At the issue from the fosse, however, all again 
became uncertain. Master and dogs hesitated, all three more em- 
barrassed than ever. In vain the dogs smelled and coasted along 
the two banks ; nothing to the left — nothing to the right — noth- 
ing either before or behind, the thread was broken, and the path 
miraculously found, lost still more miraculously. 
During these few seconds, while the game was drawing to a 
crisis, I looked toward the party that had so deep a stake in it — 
a single glance as quick as if I feared my eye might betray him. 
He was impassible ; more moved myself, great drops of sweat 
beaded my brow. Suddenly the old Nimrod, whose persevering 
eye took in every object, had one of those inspirations which in 
the chase denote a consummate hunter, on a battle-field often de- 
cide the fate of the day. 
With a firm, sure step, he marched toward the pile of logs, and 
climbed up on it. On coming out of this muddy ditch the deer 
had his feet covered with dirt and slime as well as the hunter arid 
