d to fight off an
attack of what is called "buck fever," and which is fatal to the best
hunter; but by and by his nerves settled, and he became as cool and
self-possessed as Hank Hazletine himself would have been under the
circumstances.

It seemed improbable that the buck would wait where he was, even if not
alarmed, for the time necessary to afford a good shot for his enemy. It
was some whim that had led him out upon the top of the towering bluff,
where he was in view of the young hunters. It is not to be supposed that
his kind appreciate such a thing as beauty in a landscape or scene
spread before them, and yet the action of the buck almost indicated
something of that nature; for he stood motionless, minute after minute,
as if absorbed, and suggesting a statue carved from the rock itself.

Foot by foot Fred Greenwood stole forward, crouching behind boulders,
creeping beside immense rocks which shut him from the gaze of the
watchful animal, until with a rapidly beating heart he whispered:

"I'm near enough to try a shot."

He was making ready, when he observed a well-screened point a few rods
in advance, which impressed him as the right place. Once there, he could
ask no better opportunity to test his skill. Was it safe to wait a
minute or two longer? Yes, he would make the attempt.

With infinite care, and holding his nerves in superb control, he worked
his way to the spot without alarming the buck.

CHAPTER VIII.

LOOK BEFORE YOU LEAP.

Crouching behind the friendly boulder, Fred Greenwood rested the barrel
of his Winchester upon it and took careful aim at the buck, which seemed
scarcely to have moved from the moment he was seen by the youths. That
he maintained his pose thus long was certainly remarkable, and the fact
was due to a cause suspected by neither of the boys.

That the antelope has the bump of curiosity developed to a most amazing
degree is well known. It is this peculiarity which has proved fatal to
the animals in numberless instances. The curiosity of the _cervus_
species, while much less, sometimes manifests itself in an extraordinary
fashion. Fred Greenwood managed his approach with so much skill that he
was not noticed; but his comrade, further away, was seen by the vigilant
animal, when Jack, becoming impatient over the delay, began the attempt
to follow him. The sight of the young hunter startled the buck. He was
on the point of whirling about and making off, but waited to learn