y feet of the cow, Fred knelt on one knee and brought
his rifle to a level. The cow was still advancing, "head on," when he
made a noise similar to that which comes natural to you when you wish to
drive the hens out of your garden-patch. The cow stopped abruptly, threw
up her head and stared at the hunter. The sight of the crouching figure
must have suggested to the stupid animal that every thing was not right,
for with a frightened whiff, she bounded short around with the intention
of joining the other animals.

At the very moment she turned, Fred Linden fired, sending the bullet
directly back of her fore leg, where it tore its way through flesh,
muscles, bones and the heart, the battered bullet humming off through
the air on the other side.

No shot could have been more effective. The cow made a couple of wild
leaps and then lunged forward, her nose striking the earth with such
force that her head doubled under her and she swung over on her back and
side with a violence that made it seem as if she had fallen down a high
precipice.

Following his old rule, Fred loaded his gun where he stood, before
moving out to examine his prize. It was at this juncture that a stampede
of the whole drove was due. Now that the boys had secured their
breakfast they would not have cared had the animals thundered off out of
sight.

But the terror of the smitten creature was too brief to affect the rest,
even though several were quite close to her at the time she gave the
snort and rolled over on the ground. A cow grazing near did raise her
head for a moment and look at her fallen friend as though she hardly
understood it. She seemed to meditate plunging into the rest of the
drove with head down and with tidings of the disaster, but she must
have concluded that since the other cow was dead, it wasn't worth while
to make any fuss over it; for she dropped her head and resumed her
grazing as though she had no further interest in the matter.

Even when Fred ran out, and, stooping down, began cutting a large slice
from the shoulder of the victim, none of the others paid any attention
to him. Close behind him came Terry, who was so desirous of examining
the prize, that he postponed starting the fire.

"Terry, how will that do for a shot?" asked Fred, with some pride, as he
plied his knife.

"Where did ye land the shot?"

"Right there, behind the fore leg; you can see the hole where it
entered."

Terry turned his head to one side, clo