them face to face with the quarry--a magnificent ten-point
stag. Confronted unexpectedly by these fresh foes, the noble creature
came to a terrified halt, and, flanks heaving, nostrils quivering,
stared at them with wide-open eyes. But a yelp from the nearest hound
and a view "halloo!" from Windybank sent it off again like a bolt from
a crossbow.

"Head him back to the main chase!" yelled Master Andrew, and he rode
off at a dangerous pace through the trees to carry out his own
instructions. Dogs and man obeyed his voice with a will, and the
unfortunate stag went bounding from one danger into the jaws of a
greater. Terrified by the shouts and bayings behind him, and sorely
hampered by the trees and undergrowth, he burst wildly into a glade,
hoping to make a quicker dash for safety, but found himself, instead,
confronted by a crowd of hunters on horse and afoot. Effectually
cornered, he turned to bay, and the first hound that approached was
tossed a good dozen yards, landing with a thud and a howl right under
the heels of Dorothy's pony. Snapping viciously out at the nearest
obstacle, the brute bit the pony just above the fetlock, causing it to
rear, spring forward, and throw its rider into the midst of the dogs
and within reach of the stag's horns. A cry of alarm went up, and
Windybank, who was easily the nearest man, had the opportunity of his
life. He hesitated, and his rival, who had quitted the boar hunt when
he found Dorothy riding after other game, sprang to the rescue in an
instant. With his bare hands he threw the dogs aside and snatched up
the unconscious girl just as the stag's antlers made the first savage
rip at her riding-dress. The whole deed was done in the twinkling of
an eye, and done single-handed. Morgan's quickness and cool daring had
proved easily equal to the crisis, and loud cries of "Well done,
Johnnie!" greeted the popular hero. For the nonce the quarry was left
to the dogs, and Windybank, glancing round, saw that he was the only
man still in the saddle; instinctively every other rider had sprung to
the ground. No one appeared to notice him; so, conscious that his
chance of regaining any share of popular esteem was gone, he swung his
horse round and disappeared amidst the trees. His dogs were yelping
with the rest of the pack, and not even his groom followed him. A
feeling of hopeless loneliness crept over the young man's heart, and
his head hung down, weighted with the bitterest