340 
WILD BEASTS AND THEIR WA YS 
CHAP. 
making sudden sorties from his position, he contin¬ 
ually struck down the leading hounds, and then 
quickly sprang back again to his stronghold. 
“For a few seconds I silently watched the fight. 
I saw that the dogs had no chance, and, hoping to 
make the stag break his bay and change to a more 
favourable position, I hallooed the dogs on. When 
Bertram heard my voice it mattered little whether 
it was elk or boar, and the young dog rushed like 
a lion straight at the stag’s head. The stag met 
him in his charge, and pinned the brave dog with 
his antlers against the perpendicular bank. Never¬ 
theless the staunch hound would not loose his hold. 
Without a second’s delay Bran and Lucifer rushed 
to the rescue, and the stag tore through the jungle 
with the three dogs hanging upon his ears and 
throat. 
“ Making a short cut through the patina, I came 
up with them within ioo yards of the first position. 
Bran and Lucifer had nailed him fast, and slipping 
the knife behind his shoulder, I killed him im¬ 
mediately. 
“ Poor Bertram ! I feared that was a fatal thrust 
when I saw him pinned against the bank, and now 
I felt sure that he was dead, as he was absent from 
his place. I immediately tracked the stag back, and 
within 30 yards I found the dog lying in the last 
gasp, with a horn wound in the centre of the chest, 
completely through his lungs. He had evidently 
kept his hold until he dropped in the pangs of 
death. I poured water in hopeless sorrow over 
