up the chase with a
fresh animal until the emu is tired out, and then the dogs are sent in
to finish the work."

Our young friends slept well that night, the result of their exercise on
horseback in the open air; in fact, they didn't care to sit up late, and
retired much earlier than on the previous evening.

The next morning the party started very soon after breakfast, and the
way was taken to an open plain, three or four miles across, and fringed
with timber. When they neared the plain they met a black fellow, who had
been sent out early in the morning to find the game. He had found it,
and informed his master where it was.

Then the horsemen were spread out in the manner already mentioned, and
the bird was started out of a little clump of timber where they had
taken shelter. Harry and Ned were surprised to see the manner in which
he ran. He seemed to be ready to drop with exhaustion, and Harry
confidently predicted that he would fall dead from fright before going a
mile. But somehow he managed to keep in advance of his pursuers, and
whenever they quickened their pace he quickened his, but all the time
keeping up the appearance of weariness. The last of the horsemen,
however, approached within two hundred yards of the emu, who was by this
time really tired. Then the dogs were turned loose, and they speedily
overtook the bird and pulled him down. One of the dogs was quite
severely injured in the fight with the bird, but his wounds were dressed
and bandaged, and his owners said he would soon be well again.

The emu is called the Australian ostrich, and he resembles that bird in
being unable to fly, running with great rapidity and using his feet for
fighting purposes. He strikes a heavy blow with his foot, and a single
stroke of it is sufficient to disable a dog or break a man's leg. The
young man who accompanied Harry told him that he knew of an instance
where an emu was chased and overtaken by a man on horseback, accompanied
by dogs. The bird became desperate at finding he could not escape. As
the horse approached, the bird threw itself on its back and kicked
savagely, ripping the side of the animal with its claws. The horse was
so badly lacerated that it was necessary to shoot him.

If caught when young or hatched out from an egg, the emu can be easily
domesticated, but he is a dangerous pet to have about the premises. Like
the ostrich, it has a love for bright things, and has been known to
swallow silver spoons