ly bent down and gripped the beast by one of its hind
legs.

"'Tis a roast of frish pork we'll be afther havin' the morrow," he
declared. "They do be sayin' that these same Virginia pigs have the
flavor of the bist Irish pork; an' I've always wanted to try the same.
Think of Nick being the one to give us this trate. And if we iver run
up against the owner, it's Nick must stand the cost. A tiger, did he
say? He must have been saing double stripes the time."

When they backed into the camp, and the defunct pig was shown, a chorus
of yells arose from the balance of the crowd. Even Nick joined in the
whooping.

"Laugh all you want to, fellows," he remarked, as he assumed a proud
attitude, leaning on his gun as though posing for his picture, with
that wild boar at his feet, as the spoils of the hunt. "I thought it
was a wild beast about to attack the camp; and as the only one awake at
the time, I believed it my solemn duty to give him both barrels, which
I did. And what's more, you see that I got him. Now, what do you say
about my marksmanship, Josh Purdue?"

"Not a word," returned that worthy, throwing up both hands. "Why, you
peppered the poor beast from bow to stern. Won't we have a fine time
picking the shot out of our teeth, if we try to eat him? But Jack, do
they ever make use of such awful thin-looking hogs as this?"

"Of course, they do," replied the other, quickly. "All razorbacks are
thin. They live in the woods and swamps, feeding on mast, which means
acorns and nuts and sweet roots. That's what gives their flesh the
sweet taste it has, a sort of gamey flavor, they say, though I never
really ate part of a genuine razorback."

"But you will now, I hope," remarked Nick. "This is my treat, and I
hereby cordially invite you, one and all, to partake with me when our
chef has a chance to cook one of these fresh hams."

"He just wants us to be in it as deep as he is, so if the owner shows
up we'll stand by him," chuckled Josh.

"Well, we ought to stand back of him," asserted Jack; "because Nick
really rested under the belief that he was protecting the camp from the
prowling monster. Of course, we accept your kind invite, Nick; and
now, let's get back under the blankets as fast as we can, because it's
kind of cool out here."

All of them made haste to do so save Nick, who lingered for some time
to fairly gloat over his quarry. Seldom had the fat boy been enabled
to bring down any species of gam