ery
direction where he could bring mountain, valley, hill, and plain into
the field of the glass.

He had turned slowly till he was gazing in the direction from which they
had come, leaving what looked like a band of deep green, to bring the
glass to bear upon the pale ash-coloured desert part, which rapidly
brightened into silvery grey, and from that became like the sea,
half-hidden by a soft haze which died away into the sky-line.

Quite ten minutes must have passed away, the boys having been too much
occupied with the bear to heed their companion, when Ned said in a
disappointed tone--

"Gone! I should have liked to shoot that bear."

"And had his skin," said Chris. "But look at Griggs," he added, in a
whisper; "he can see something.--What are you looking at?" cried the
boy, aloud.

"That patch far away over the salt plain. You can't see it with the
naked eye.--Yes: I can, but it only looks like a shadow. Here, try the
glass."

He handed the binocular to the boy, who looked but could see nothing
till his companion had given him a hint or two to follow an imaginary
line upward from one of the eminences below.

Chris caught the object sought then.

"Yes," he cried, "I see. Why, it's a herd of buffalo!"

"Try again," said Griggs.

"Yes: a herd of buffalo," said Chris, lowering his glass and trying to
fix the object with his eyes. "I can see it without the glass. Just
like a cloud-shadow in the glistening, heaving plain, and moving slowly.
I shouldn't have thought that buffalo would be seen on a dry place like
that."

"Let me look," cried Ned, and after a try or two he caught the object
visible through the glass.

"Yes, buffalo," he said, "and they're moving slowly."

"Coming this way?" said Griggs.

"I can't hold the glass steadily enough to make sure. Yes, I can see
now; they're not coming straight for here, but they seem to be sloping
across as if to get to the rich grass. That must be it, I think."

"Very likely," said Griggs quietly. "Hunting."

"Yes, hunting for grass," said Chris. "Let's have another look, Ned."

He caught the glass and took a long look at the dimly-seen distant patch
on the plain, to cry decisively without lowering the instrument--

"Yes; you're quite right, Ned. Why, they must be miles away. I should
never have seen them. What eyes you have, Griggs!"

"Been used more than yours have, lad, and that has made them a bit
keener, I suppose. Try again, and see w