tive awakener.
He was up in a moment coughing vociferously. Most men have a tendency
to vent ill-humour on some one, and they generally do it on one whom
they deem to be worse than themselves. Henri, therefore, instead of
growling at Joe for rousing him, scolded Dick for not rising.

"Ha, mauvais dog! bad chien! vill you dare to look to me?"

Crusoe did look with amiable placidity, as though to say, "Howl away,
old boy, I won't budge till Dick does."

With a mighty effort Giant Sleep was thrown off at last, and the
hunters were once more on their journey, cantering lightly over the
soft turf.

"Ho, let's have a run!" cried Dick, unable to repress the feelings
aroused by the exhilarating morning air.

"Have a care, boy," cried Joe, as they stretched out at full gallop.
"Keep off the ridge; it's riddled wi' badger--Ha! I thought so."

At that moment Dick's horse put its foot into a badger-hole and turned
completely over, sending its rider through the air in a curve that an
East Indian acrobat would have envied. For a few seconds Dick lay flat
on his back, then he jumped up and laughed, while his comrades hurried
up anxiously to his assistance.

"No bones broke?" inquired Joe.

Dick gave a hysterical gasp. "I--I think not."

"Let's have a look. No, nothin' to speak o', be good luck. Ye should
niver go slap through a badger country like that, boy; always keep i'
the bottoms, where the grass is short. Now then, up ye go. That's it!"

Dick remounted, though not with quite so elastic a spring as usual,
and they pushed forward at a more reasonable pace.

Accidents of this kind are of common occurrence in the prairies. Some
horses, however, are so well trained that they look sharp out for
these holes, which are generally found to be most numerous on the high
and dry grounds. But in spite of all the caution both of man and horse
many ugly falls take place, and sometimes bones are broken.

They had not gone far after this accident when an antelope leaped from
a clump of willows, and made for a belt of woodland that lay along the
margin of a stream not half-a-mile off.

"Hurrah!" cried Dick, forgetting his recent fall. "Come along,
Crusoe." And away they went again full tilt, for the horse had not
been injured by its somersault.

The antelope which Dick was thus wildly pursuing was of the same
species as the one he had shot some time before--namely, the
prong-horned antelope. These graceful creatures have long, sle