oquettish way--no doubt fully
aware of the warm interest she was exciting in the breasts of the
belligerent gobblers. She was much smaller than either of these, and
far less brilliant in plumage. The males appeared very bright indeed--
almost equal to a pair of peacocks--and as their glossy backs glanced in
the sun with metallic lustre, our hunters thought they had never before
seen such beautiful birds.

Taken up with their own quarrel, they would no doubt have allowed the
hunters to get within shooting distance of them. The female, however,
was upon the alert; and seeing these draw near, she raised her head with
a loud "tweet!" which attracted the attention of her companions. In a
moment their spread tails closed and came to the ground, their wings
were shut up, and their long necks stretched into the air. Their forms
underwent a complete change, and they now stood erect upon the prairie,
_Each of them full five feet in height_!

"Beautiful creatures!" exclaimed Lucien.

"Yes," muttered Basil. "They will not give us much longer time though.
We had best make a dash. Take you the hen, Luce, your horse is the
slowest. Now for it. _For-ward_!"

All three spurred their horses, and dashed forward together, Marengo
leading the chase. In a moment they were within a hundred yards or so
of the turkeys. The latter, thus suddenly set upon, ran a few paces,
and then rose into the air, with a loud flapping of their wings. They
took different directions, confused by being sprung in such haste. Each
of the boys had selected the one he intended pursuing; and upon that one
alone his eyes became fixed. Basil and Francois followed the gobblers,
while Lucien rode at a quiet gallop after the hen.

Marengo, of course, took part in the chase, joining in with Lucien--
whether because he deemed the hen to be "sweeter meat," or that she was
likely to be the easiest caught of the three.

She did not fly far before coming to the ground again; when she ran with
all her might for the nearest clump of timber. Hither Lucien followed,
Marengo leading the way, and occasionally uttering a sonorous yelp as he
ran. As Lucien entered the timber, he saw the dog standing by the root
of a large oak. He had "treed" the turkey, and was looking upward with
glancing eyes, barking and wagging his tail. Lucien rode cautiously
under the tree, where he perceived the turkey crouching among the moss,
upon one of its highest branches. His rifle