the eyes of the hunters, as they perceived a
small herd coming down the rocky pathway. The creatures bounded along
with a wild and graceful freedom, until they reached the debouche of
the pass into the valley. There they paused,--scanned the scene with
eager eyes and snuffed the morning breeze. The wind brought no tale of
their enemies, close at hand, and they bounded on fearlessly to the
river's brink.

It was apparently a family party, a noble buck leading the group,
followed by a doe and two young hinds. They soon had their noses in
the stream. The buck took large draughts and then raising his haughty
front, tossed his antlers, as if in defiance, in the face of the god
of day.

Micah's eye was at his rifle. A crack and a whizz in the air. The
noble creature gave one mighty bound and fell dead. The ball had
entered his broad forehead and penetrated to the brain.

At the report of the rifle, the doe, who was still drinking, gave a
bound in the air, scattering the spray from her dripping mouth,
wheeled with the rapidity of lightning, and sprang towards the gorge.
But John's instantaneous shot sped through the air and the animal fell
dead from her second bound, the ball having entered the heart. In the
midst of their triumph, John and Micah watched, with relenting eyes
the two hinds, while they took, as on the wings of the wind, their
forlorn flight up the fatal pathway.

Having slung their booty on the boughs of a wide-branching tree, and
taken some refreshment from the supplies in the canoe, Micah declared
himself good for a scramble up the hill to the feeding-ground, a
proposition John readily accepted.

Over rock, bush and brier, up hill and down, for five hours, they
pursued their way with unmitigated zeal and energy. They scaled the
hill, cut by the gorge,--approaching, cautiously, its brow,
overlooking the deer haunt. But they could perceive no trace of the
herd.

"It's abeout as I expected", said Micah, "them two little hinds we
skeered, gin the alarm to the rest on 'em and they've all skulked off
to some covit or ruther. S'pose Captin', we jest make a surkit reound
through the rest of these hills, maybe we'll light on 'em agin".

"Agreed", responded John.

They skirted the enclosure, but without a chance for another shot. As,
about noon, they were rapidly descending the gorge, on their way back
to the promontory, the scene of their morning success, Micah proposed
that they should have "a nice brile ou