were
actually watching him.

"But he didn't shoot here, after all?" said Phil.

"No, p'raps game fly away; or mebbe all a mistake," Tony replied. "See
no empty shell near where he kneel in sand. He go on further, this
aways," and he once more led off through the woods.

After a while Phil believed they must be close to the place where his
chum had discharged his gun just once. Nor was he much surprised when
Tony suddenly darted sideways, and picked up an empty shell.

"Here shoot all right; camp over thar!" said the swamp boy, pointing
without hesitation through the timber; doubtless the direction of the
wind aided him in thus fixing the location of the boat in his mind.

"But what could he have shot at?" exclaimed Phil. "I don't see any
sign of game around here, do you?"

"Start on run fast," remarked Tony, pointing down to the ground, as
though he had read that fact there in the change of the footprints.

"Then perhaps he did hit something!" exclaimed Phil. "Let's follow and
see if there's any sign. It may have been only a hamak fox squirrel he
saw, and thought to bag, so he wouldn't have to come in with empty
hands."

"No, wild turkey!" declared Tony, holding up a feather his quick eye
had detected on the ground.

"Well, however in the wide world d'ye suppose that clumsy chum of mine
ever managed to get close enough to such wary game to knock a feather
from it?" laughed Phil; "but he must have wounded the bird, for he's
gone headlong through the woods here in full chase."

They followed on for some time. Phil began to wonder how Larry ever
kept up the pace. Truly the hunter instinct must have been aroused at
last in the fat boy to have caused him to thus wildly exert himself.
And in the excitement he doubtless forgot all about the directions
given him by his chum.

"Why, he's going further and further away from camp all the time!"
announced Phil presently.

"Heap game Larry," grinned the swamp boy, who doubtless understood the
new spirit that was urging the other on, with his wounded game
constantly tantalizing him.

"Hark!" cried Phil, as he held up his hand warningly. "Did you hear
that?"

"Help! oh! help!" came faintly from some point away ahead.

CHAPTER VIII

HELD FAST

When Larry started out upon this, his very first hunt alone, he was
filled with a newborn ambition. But before he had wandered for ten
minutes he began to feel the heat, and wished he had not been so silly