y and
deliberately done, and the second ball struck it in the breast, when Tom
thought that another bound would land it squarely on the top of him.
That settled it. It stayed right there, and all he could see of the Red
Ghost was the twigs and leaves which it threw up during its struggles.
In the meantime there was a terrific commotion in the cabin, and his
three friends came rushing out to see what was the matter.

"Who's got my rifle!" exclaimed Uncle Ezra. "Now, wait till I tell you,"
he shouted, while lost in astonishment. "He's got the Red Ghost; by gum,
if he aint!"

They drew as near the struggling animal as they could, while Uncle Ezra
went in to bring out a brand from the fire to examine it, and Tom stood
by, not a little elated. It was the first desperate adventure he had
had, and he had stood up to the mark like a man. When the animal had
ceased its contortions, and the firebrands were brought out so that we
could examine it closely, it was curious to see what different views the
hunters took of their prize. Elam could hardly be made to believe that
it was not a ghost. He stood at a distance while the others were
inspecting it, and when he saw they were handling it, he remarked that
the bullet he had sent into its neck ought to have finished it when he
got it. Ben examined its legs and Tom felt of its hump. He said that
when an Arab had a long journey to make he always examined the hump to
see if his camel was in good condition, while an American always looked
to his horse's hoofs. He did not think this animal was in a fit
condition to travel, although it had come seventy-five miles since Tom
had last seen it, picking up its living on the way.

"Tom, you will do to tie to," said Elam, when he became satisfied that
the animal was dead. "Shake!"

"Thank you," said Tom, seeing that his hands were safely out of reach.
"If it's all the same to you I'll not shake hands with you. I did it
once back there in the mountains, and I haven't got over it."

"Well, Tom, you certainly have done something to be proud of," said
Ezra. "Let's go in and take a smoke. We'll finish our examination by
daylight."

CHAPTER XVI.

A NEW EXPEDITION.

There wasn't much sleeping done in the cabin that night, there was so
much to talk about. To say that the hunters were very much pleased over
the success of Tom's lucky shots would be putting it very mildly. Elam
was much elated to know it was a camel, an animal he had neve