panionship in an accident, and Momus accordingly pitched upon
his nose in the same bog, my brother describing a fine spread-eagle as
he sprawled in the soft ground, We were close to the bay; the horses
extricated themselves directly, and again mounting we rode hard to the
spot

The buck was at bay in the river, and the exhausted dogs were yelling at
him from the bank. The instant that we arrived and cheered them on,
old Smut came from the pack towards us with an expression of perfect
delight; he gave himself two or three rolls on the grass, and then went
to the fight like a lion. The buck, however, suddenly astonished the
whole pack by jumping out of the river, and, charging right through
them, he started over the plain towards the jungle, with the hounds
after him. He had refreshed himself by standing for so long in the
cold stream, while the dogs, on the contrary, were nearly worn out. He
reached the jungle with the whole pack at his heels; but after doubling
backward and forward in the forest for about five minutes, we heard the
crash in the bushes as he once more rushed towards the plain, and he
broke cover in fine style, with the three greyhounds, Bran, Lucifer and
Lena, at his haunches. In another instant he was seized, but he fell
with such a shock that it threw the greyhounds from their hold, and
recovering himself with wonderful quickness, he went down the slope
towards the river at a tremendous pace. The greyhounds overtook him just
as he gained the steep bank of the river, and they all rolled over in a
confused crowd into the deep water.

The next moment the buck was seen swimming proudly down the river, with
the pack following him down the stream in full cry. Presently he gained
his footing, and, disdaining farther flight, he turned bravely upon the
hounds.

He was a splendid fellow; his nostrils were distended, his mane was
bristled up, and his eyes flashed, as, rearing to his full height, he
plunged forward and struck the leading dogs under the water. Not a
dog could touch him; one by one they were beaten down and half-drowned
beneath the water. Old Smut was to the front as usual: down the old dog
was beaten, but he reappeared behind the elk's shoulder, and the next
moment he was hanging on his ear. The poor old dog had lost so many of
his teeth in these encounters that he could not keep his hold, and
the buck gave a tremendous spring forward, shaking off the old dog and
charging through the pack, sinki