
Oct. 5, 1907.] 
FOREST AND STREAM. 

Bees 

dog caught sight of the doe standing motionless 
not twenty feet away from him. He flew at her 
with a snarl, his running mate joining him. 
Now was “Mother Doe” happy. They would 
not get the fawn; she had thrown them off, and 
felt confident she could take herself. 
But she soon discovered that the running was 
very difficult and the hounds were snapping at 
On she went as best she could until, 
care of 
her heels. 
nearly exhausted, she struck the well worn run- 
way from the yard. Her plans now received 
new hope which buoyed up her spirits and gave 
her new strength. She made straight for the 
home of Doc Warren, for she knew he would 
hear the hounds and come out and shoot them, 
as he had done in similar cases before. Then, 
free from her tormentors, she would return for 
her fawn. She sped down the mountain, reached 
Doc’s back fence and took it with a bound. 
Past the barn she went and right up to the 
back door of the house. 
No one came out and the doe ran nervously 
about from one side of the house to the other. 
On going by one window she attracted the at- 
tention of Mrs. Warren and her twelve-year-old 
daughter. Both came to the door, heard the 
baying hounds and took in the situation at a 
glance. They procured clubs and ran to the 
| back fence to meet the dogs. Mrs. Warren 
\struck one dog and bowled it over, but the 
‘daughter failed to stop the other one. Both 
idogs quickly recovered from their surprise, 
\circled around the house and took up the trail 
jagain. 
When the doe, who had been watching the 
proceedings from the orchard near the house, 
divintd what had happened, immediately 
lturned toward the river on the flats about two 
miles away. She somewhat at 
Warren’s and with renewed strength led the 
Reaching the river she 
she 
had recovered 
\dogs at a good swing. 
found it partly closed with thin ice; but in she 
\went without hesitation, and by mighty efforts 
scrambled up the oppos:te bank. She could go 
slow now and rest in some ne:ghboring woods. 
She heard the dogs arrive at the river, when 
cheir baying ceased, but she was both weary and 
jchilled, and when she lay down for a moment’s 
rest it was only to jump to her feet again, for 
he dogs had worked around and crossed the 
stream. “Mother Doe” took to her heels again, 
After she had gone 

straight up the river valley. 
or over a mile she came to the conclusion that 
1er only salvation lay in returning to the pro- 
ector’s house, and finding an open ford in the 
she recrossed. But her strength was 
Her tongue lolled out and her breath 
She headed over the hill to- 
}3tream, 
vaning. 
|was coming fast. 
iward Warren's. 
| On reaching the top of a knoll she saw a 
‘nan running toward her. Was it a friend or 
imemy? What cared she? The dogs would soon 
get her anyway, so she would not alter her 
course. She passed the man, stopped and 
vheeled about. He was on her back track now, 
‘unning toward the dogs. He kneeled down 
ust as the frothing hounds came over the 
cnoll. Crack! went his rifle, and again. There 
vas a howl of pain from one dog and instant 
ilence from the other. 
Doc had arrived home just as the doe struck 
he river, and, upon being told the story by his 
vife, grabbed his rifle and went in pursuit of 
he hounds. 
The doe 

now slowly dragged herself to 


down, completely 
and offered 
Warren’s barnyard and lay 
exhausted. The women came out 
her apples and grain, but she would not eat. 
The game protector noted her steaming flanks 
with looks of pity. ‘‘Mother Doe” rested only 
a short time, however, and then arose and looked 
wistfully toward the mountain. No matter how 
weary, she must ‘return and find her fawn in 
the snowdrift. 
Doc saw her start and remarked to his wife: 
“T tell you, Mary, that deer is nearly all in, and 
I think I'll follow her up and See her safe, and 
find out what became of her fawn.” 
He reloaded his rifle, tied on his snowshoes 
and took the trail. The doe pushed up the steep 
and narrow runway as fast as her jaded limbs 
would carry her, pausing now and then to rest 
and inhale the refreshing air in gulps. She con- 
tinued for some time, when suddenly her atten- 
tion was attracted by a peculiar taint in the at- 
mosphere. She knew it and stood as if 
transfixed, watching and listening. Her 
ears caught the sound of breaking twigs ahead 
and the dull 
well 
keen 
snowshoes. 
crunching noise of 

WATCHING 
THE BACK TRAIL, 
Surely it could not be Warren, for how could 
he have gotten above her so quickly?» While 
thus pondering the matter, she glanced to her 
right, and there saw a man sneaking toward 
her. Instinctively she wheeled about toward the 
home of her protector, but before she could 
call upon her weary limbs to make another 
effort, there was a sharp report and she felt 
a pricking pain in her side. She twitched con- 
vulsively and made a plunge. As she did, the 
sound was repeated and she felt another twinge 
in her right hip. 
her legs were growing unsteady, and with the 
She made several leaps, but 
will and rare courage of her species, tottered on 
down the trail. But now she could dimly see 
Doc coming to her Poor 
“Mother Doe’ made one desperate effort to 
reach him, only to fall in a heap at his feet. 
Doc rifle, as tenderly as 
though she were a big-hearted, 
brawny man of the mountains raised her head 
in his lap, but the deer’s eyes soon closed and 
her body became rigid. ‘‘You poor critter!” 
murmured Doc, under his breath, and then he 
laid her down gently on the snow. He had 
heard the shots and knew what had happened. 
rescue again! 
dropped his and 
woman, this 
He quickly recovered his composure, grabbed 
his rifle, going down the trail a short 
distance, concealed himself. 
heard the 
and, 
thud! of 
men 
Presently he thud! ap- 
proaching snowshoes. Two came into 
view. One was quickly at the fallen deer’s side. 
“Here she is, Jim,’ said one, and then the 
other came up. 
“Did you hit her, Joe?” inquired the latter. 
“Ves, I caught her right below the heart and 
you got her in the hip.” 
“T am glad to hear that evidence,’ said Doc, 
jumping from his place of concealment and 
covering the men with his rifle, “and I’ve caught 
both of pot-hunters, for 
killing that poor critter after I’ve been working 
hard all winter to keep her and her fawn from 
starving. You fellows just those rifles 
and march down this runway ahead of me.” 
The two men were fairly dumbfounded, but 
you, you miserable 
d rop 
managed to recover their wits sufficiently to 
obey orders and march silently down to Doc’s 
house. There he handcuffed them together, 
hitched up his horse, hustled them off to town 
and left them behind the bars in the county 
jail. 
Doc then hastened home, and it was after 
dark.when he drew up at his door, but he was 
not satisfied with his yet. After 
partaking of a light supper, he put on his snow- 
shoes and, and a piece of 
rope, started for the mountain. With difhculty 
he found the deer runway and scrambled up the 
He covered the dead doe with brush anc 
day's work 
taking a lantern 
trail. 
hid the two rifles he had captured. Then he ex- 
amined the tracks carefully. He saw*where two 
deer had left the 
he came out on the clearing near the top of the 
He studied the tracks, always keep- 

herd and tracked them unt! 
mountain. 
ing those of the smaller deer in view till there 
was a break-off near a large drift. This he ex- 
amined thoroughly, but found nothing until he 
held his lantern over his head. There in the 
depth of the drift he saw two little eyes that 
looked like small balls of fire. So Doc went 
over to them and found the fawn wallowing in 
the snow nearly up to its eyes. The little critter 
eave vent to such a pitiful bleat that it moved 
Doc to reply as though he were speaking to his 
own babe: 
“There you are! my little precious,” he 
“don’t be scared and I'll take you away where 
you'll be safe from hounds and pot-hunters.” 
With that he stepped out of his snowshoes 
and grabbed the fawn, threw it over and secured 
Then he pulled it out 
Throw- 
said; 
its legs with the rope. 
of the drift and put on his snowshoes. 
ing its legs over his head, he raised the fawn 
on his back, picked up his lantern and started 
for home. 
It was a big contract 
that slippery trail after nightfall; but nothing 
daunted Doc when he was determined. About 
11 o'clock Mrs. Warren, who had been watch- 
ing out of a rear window, saw his light. She 
went to the door and heard Doc’s voice calling: 
“Come out, Mary, and open the barn door 
for me. They've killed poor “Mother Doe,” 
but I’ve got her fawn here and you'll have to be 
a mother to it now, till the little critter grows 
up and can shift for itself. We'll put it in the 
warm straw: for to-night and I’ll be blamed if 
Miller’s camp are going to 
little fellow’s this 
carrying a deer down 

those cusses from 
have any of this venison 
winter.” 
































































