ed the disuniting of
soul and body, each of the young men turned a breathless look of horror
upon the old hunter, such as landsmen in a terrible gale at sea would
turn upon the commander of the vessel; but, save an almost imperceptible
quiver of the lips, not a muscle of the now stern countenance of Boone
changed.

"Merciful Heaven!--we are lost!" cried Henry, wildly. "Oh! such a
death!"

"Every man's got to die when his time comes--but none afore; and yourn
hasn't come yet, Master Harry," replied Boone, quietly; "unless," he
added, a moment after, as he raised his rifle to his eye, "Betsey here's
forgot her old tricks."

As he spoke, his gun flashed, a report followed, and one of the foremost
of the herd, an old bull, which had gained a point within a hundred
yards of the marksman, stumbled forward and rolled over on the earth,
with a loud bellow of pain His companions, which were pressing close
behind, snorted with fear, as they successively came up; and turning
aside, on either hand, made a furrow in their ranks; that, gradually
widening as they advanced, finally cleared our friends by a space of
twenty yards; and so passed they on, making the very earth tremble under
their mighty trend.[8]

It was a sublime sight--to behold such a tremendous caravan of wild
beasts rushing past--and one that filled each of the spectators, even
when they knew all danger was over, with a sense of trembling awe; and
they stood and gazed in silence, until the last of the herd was lost to
their vision; then advancing to the noble hunter, Henry silently grasped
his hard, weather-beaten hand, and turned away with tearful eyes--an
example that was followed by each of the others, and which was more
heart touchingly expressive of their feelings, than would have been a
vocabulary of appropriate words.

Our party next proceeded to examine the wounded bull, which was still
bellowing with rage and pain; and having carefully approached and
despatched him with their knives, they found that the ball of Boone had
entered a vital part. Taking from him a few slices of meat, to serve
them in case their provisions ran short, they once more resumed their
journey--the wind still easterly and the storm raging.

About three hours past noon the storm began to show signs of
abatement--the wind blew less hard, and had veered several points to the
north--an event which the old hunter noted with great satisfaction. They
had now gained a point within ten mi