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which often prevailed, broken only by
the measured thump of the oars against
the thowl-pins, Dr. Gordon was aroused
from his meditative attitude by hearing
a sharp, quick call from Tomkins, “Look
yonder!” He looked in the direction in
dicated by Tomkins’ eye, and saw, at the
distance of less than half a mile, a noble
buck, with fine branching antlers, making
for a precipitous bluff of about ten feet
in height. His head and tail were proud
ly erect, and he was moving along at an
easy, graceful lope, while not a hundred
yards behind him followed three dogs in
hot pursuit. On reaching the bluff', the
buck leaped sheer off into the air, show
ing against the distant sky his whole pro
file, with out-spread legs and head thrown
back to watch his pursuers. He alighted
upon the beach full twenty-five feet dis
tant from the base of the bluff, and im
mediately plunged into the water. Soon
after him came his panting pursuers, with
mouths open and tongues lolling out, and
while one of them made the leap from the
bluff, in faint imitation of the deer, the
others scrambled down the steep decliv
ity, and all of them plunged into the wa
ter also.
In the course of a few minutes more,
two eanoes, each containing two Indians,
shot from behind the projecting bluff and
paddled rapidly after the dogs. By this
time the deer had gone so far to sea as to
be scarcely visible, except perhaps to the
keen eyes of the Indians, although the
dark heads of the dogs w T ere plainly to be
seen rising and falling upon the swell of
the gently moving waves. Whether gui
ded by the sight of the now distant deer,
or of the dogs, the hunters did not hesi
tate, but pushed right out to sea. The
dogs, after swimming about half a mile,
seemed to fail, either in strength or cour
age, and returned to shore, passing the
canoes at the distance of a few' rods, and
on reaching land shook their dripping
coats, and lay panting upon the sand,
with their eyes steadily directed to the
canoes, and seeming to anticipate what
they knew was to be the end of the chase.
Dr. Gordon observed that while one of
the canoes paddled rapidly in the direc
tion from which the dogs had come, the
other followed very leisurely in its wake.
Soon the head of the foremost canoe was
turned south, upon which the one in the
rear moved with all possible rapidity in
the same direction. The deer, having ex
hausted the swimming power of the dogs,
had turned also towards land, and it was
the plan of the Indians to intercept and
capture it. The struggle, on the deer’s
part, to escape was long and obstinate.
It made a wide detour to pass its danger-
1} Ult KE’S WEEKLY.
ous-looking enemies on the water; then
it swam with all its might in the effort to
win the race to shore ; failing in this, it
made desperate efforts to pass, now to
this side, then to that of its pursuers. Its
efforts, however, were all in vain. The
other canoe soon came up ; the poor brute
seemed now to lose heart; it began to
swim feebly, then almost at random ; at
last its branching horns were entangled
by a lasso-like thong thrown around
them; its head was pushed under the
water and hold there until life was nearly
extinct, when it was drawn to the side of
the canoe and its throat cut; after which
it was taken aboard, just in time to save
the carcass from several immense sharks
which had scented the blood from afar,
and whose black fins, projecting a foot
into the air, seemed almost to make a
fizzing sound as they hurried fiercely to
the scene of slaughter.
When the barge came to the spot from
which the canoes were now departing
the disappointed sharks could be plainly
seen, staring with their green, hungry
eyes at the crew, and looking as if they
were meditating a leap at them over the
gunwales. ,
As the canoes were moving off Tom
kins hailed them and congratulated the
leading Indian, an elderly, fine-looking
man, on his skill as a hunter. No an
swer, however, was returned, except a
grunt, expressive certainly of indifference
if not of disgust. Thinking it possible
that none of them understood English,
Tomkins repeated what he had said in
Indian, and at the same time inquired if
any boats had been seen passing on the
coast. Still there was no reply, nor even
a turning of the ear, or a movement of
the eye to intimate their consciousness of
any presence except their own. The
elderly Indian alone gave one searching
look-into the faces of the crew, then with
a look of hate and a murmur of command
he turned his face toward the shore, and
they paddled silently away.
Tomkins turned anxiously to Dr. Gor
don and whispered—
“ I am afraid, Doctor, there is trouble
in the wigwam. I never knew a redskin
look that way, yet but mischief was sure
to follow-”
Dr. Gordon also became very grave,
and sending a sad, far, reaching glance
down the coast, replied,
“ I fear the same. Hud my poor, poor
children ! how arc they either to escape
or to meet it?”
The faces of the men reflected instant
ly and unreservedly the feelings which
they saw soplainlyVlopicted in his, while
Tomkins, acting as spokesman, said, —
“These men may not bo fair samples
for the rest; and, supposing they are,
why, what we have to do is to push on as
far and fast as possible in search of your
children. If there is a storm gathering,
we may be able to save them, and to re
turn to I ort Brooke before it bursts.”
lo these, words the men responded by
looks of hearty approbation, all except
Simpson, whose usually down look was
more down than ever, since the appear
ance of the Indians. But creditable as
they were to the soldierly spirit of the
men, they conveyed little or no consola
tion to the heart of the father. The quick
ear of Tomkins, who sat next him, caught
the sound of a stifled groan, and his eye
detected an expression of countenance
which convinced him that not only was
the mind of the sorrower far, far away,
but that his heart was holding communion
with One who is not of this world. Sol
dier though he was, and accustomed to
deal fearlessly with dangers and danger
ous things, the sight awed him into rev
erential silence.
The shadow that fell thus suddenly up
on the spirits of the grouj) was not wholly
dispelled that day. Dr. Gordon made
various attempts to rally, in which he
was well seconded by the native liveliness
of Jones and Thompson, and by the as
sumed cheerfulness of the rest; but al
though to the eye of an observer all was
pleasant enough —each was conscious of
a foreboding that the cloud which had
begun to gather was not to be dispersed
until they had heard its thunder and lolt
its force.
Late in the evening the bow of the
barge was turned shorewards, in search
of an encampment for the night. Before
leaving the open water the spy-glass was
brought into requisition and the whole
horizon swept by it. No sign was dis
covered of the missing boat, but far away
to the north a dim speck, barely visible
to the naked eye, was developed into a
canoe, manned by two Indians, and mov
ing south.
Noble Thoughts.
I never found pride in a noble nature,
nor humility in an unworthy mind. Os
all trees I observe that God has chosen
the vine, a low plant that creeps upon
the helpful wall; of all beasts, the soft
and patient lamb; ot all low Is, the mild
and guileless dove. When God appeared
to Moses, it was not in the lofty cedar,
nor the spreading palm, but in a bush an
humble, abject bush—as if he would by
these selections check the conceited arro
gance of man. Nothing produceth love
like humility ; nothing hate, like pride.
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