lay an entirely new card
against him. They brought with them two splendid dogs of mixed Scotch
deerhound and collie blood who were not only fierce but intelligent,
not only tireless but swift.

When these two long-legged, long-jawed, iron gray dogs were loosed upon
his trail the big buck chanced to be watching them from the heart of a
thicket on a knoll less than one hundred yards away. At least, as the
crow flies, it was about that distance, but by the windings of the trail
it was fully a mile. It was with equanimity, therefore, that the buck
gazed down upon these two strange arrivals, till he perceived by their
actions that it was his own trail they were following. Then a spark of
anger came into his great liquid eyes, and he stamped his sharp hoofs,
as if he would like to wait and give battle. But these were antagonists
too formidable for even so hardy a fighter as he; so he decided to get
away in good time. He was only half in earnest about it, however, for
after all, big as they were, these were only dogs, and dogs were easy to
elude. He amused himself with three or four mighty leaps, first in one
direction, then in another, to give his pursuers something to puzzle
over. Then he went bounding lightly away along the skirts of the
mountains, northwestward, toward the more familiar and favoured section
of his range. When he came to a brook he would run a little way up or
down the channel before resuming his flight. And at last, when his
velvet sides were beginning to heave from so much exercise, he made his
accustomed loop in the trail and lay down, well satisfied to wait for
the pursuers to go by.

There was only one thing that made him a little nervous as he waited in
the covert overlooking his back tracks. These dogs were so silent,
compared with the curs he was used to. An occasional sharp yelp, just
enough to let their masters know where they were, was all the noise they
made. They attended strictly to business. The buck did not expect to
hear anything of them for some time, but he had hardly been lying in his
covert more than five minutes when those staccato yelps came faintly to
his ears. He was startled. How had the creatures so quickly solved the
complexities of his trail? He had no apprehension of the sure cunning
with which those dogs could cut across curves and pick up the trail
anew. Still less did he realize their appalling speed. When next their
voices struck upon his ear they were so close that for an