.

ADVENTURES OF ARCHIE AND THE SEAMAN.

Meanwhile the buffalo-hunt progressed favourably, and the slaughter of
animals was considerable.

But there were two members of that hunt whose proceedings were not in
exact accord with the habits and laws of the chase, as usually conducted
on the Red River plains. These were the seaman Jenkins and Archie
Sinclair.

A mutual attachment having sprung up between these two, they had
arranged to keep together during the chase; and when the signal for
attack was given by Dechamp, as before related, they had "set sail,"
according to Jenkins, fairly well with the rest. But they had not gone
more than a few hundred yards when the boy observed that his nautical
friend was hauling at both reins furiously, as if desirous of stopping
his horse. Having a gun in one hand he found the operation difficult.

Archie therefore reined in a little.

"Bad luck to it!" growled Jenkins, as his young friend drew near, "the
jaws o' this craft seem to be made o' cast-iron, but I'll bring him to
if I should haul my arms out o' the sockets. Heave-to, my lad! Maybe
he'll be willin' to follow a good example."

Archie pulled up, and, as the seaman had hoped, the hard-mouthed steed
stopped, while the maddened buffalo and the almost as much maddened
hunters went thundering on, and were soon far ahead of them.

"What's wrong, Jenkins?" asked Archie, on seeing the sailor dismount.

"Not much, lad; only I want to take a haul at the main brace. Here,
hold my gun a bit, like a good chap; the saddle, you see, ain't all
right, an' if it was to slew round, you know, I'd be overboard in a
jiffy. There, that's all right. Now, we'll up anchor, an' off again.
I know now that the right way to git on board is by the port side. When
I started from Red River I was goin' to climb up on the starboard side,
but Dan Davidson kep' me right--though he had a good laugh at me. All
right now. Hand me the gun."

"Do you mean to say, Jenkins, that you never got on a horse till you
came to Red River?" asked Archie, with a laugh, as they galloped off in
pursuit of the hunters, who were almost out of sight by that time.

"Well, you've no occasion to laugh, lad," returned the seaman. "I've
bin at sea ever since I was a small shaver, scarce half as long as a
handspike, so I ain't had many opportunities, d'ee see, for we don't
have cavalry at sea, as a rule--always exceptin' the horse marines.

"Then I'm afraid you'll f