at it is, anyhow. Hold
fast to your dog. Come!'

"We crouched forward with the utmost caution, taking care not to tread
upon the dry leaves and dead branches that lay across our track. We saw
before us a thicket of pawpaws; and we made towards this--knowing that
the broad green leaves of these bushes would screen us. We were soon
among them; and a few paces farther through the thicket brought us in
full view of the glade. There we saw what had caused all the strange
noises, and which still continued as loud as ever.

"In the middle of the glade there were six red-deer. They were all
bucks, as we could easily tell from their great branching antlers. They
were engaged in fierce and terrible conflict--sometimes two and two, and
sometimes three or four of them, clumped together in a sort of general
_melee_. Then they would separate again; and going some distance apart,
would wheel suddenly about, and rush at each other with furious snorts--
first striking forward with their forefeet held close together, and then
goring one another with their sharp horns, until we could see the skin
torn open, and the hair flying from them in tufts. Their eyes were
flashing like fire, and their whole actions betokened that the animals
were filled with rage and fury.

"I saw at once what all this meant. It was now the rutting season; and
these chivalrous bucks were engaged in desperate combat about some fair
doe, as is their yearly habit.

"They were too distant for either Harry's rifle or mine; and thinking
they might fight themselves a little nearer, we determined to remain
where we were, and watch. The combat continued to rage furiously.
Sometimes a pair of them came together with such violence that both went
rolling over to the earth; but in a moment they would up, and at it
again, as fiercely as ever.

"Our attention was particularly directed to two of the combatants, that
were larger and older than any of the others--as we could tell from the
greater number of points upon their antlers. None of the others seemed
a match for either of these two, who had at length singled each other
out as worthy antagonists, and fought separately. After goring and
stamping a while, they parted--as if by mutual consent--and walked
backward until they had got at least twenty yards from each other. Then
setting their necks, and putting all their energy into the rush, they
dashed forward, and met head to head, like a couple of rams. There