Never mind, my turn will come," he declared. "That little popgun you
have will not be any good against big game."

When the frightened birds had at last passed beyond range, the boys
gathered up those that had fallen victims; four partridges, three
doves, and a full dozen of black and red rice-birds.

"Good," approved Charley, as he surveyed the feathered heap. "Those
are all fine eating and will provide us with a couple of dandy meals.
The only fault I have to find is that they use up too much ammunition.
If we use it up at this rate, we will have none when the outlaws come."

"We can make traps for the birds," Walter suggested. "I know how to
rig up a figure-four trap that will fool the wisest of them."

"Well, we will not bother with traps this trip," Charley said. "We
have got enough birds for the present. We can come again to-morrow and
fix up for them."

"What shall we do with these?" Walter inquired. "We don't want to turn
back yet, and they are too heavy to carry with comfort."

"Leave them tied up in the first tree we come to and get them on our
way back," his chum answered.

With this object in view, the two boys turned their steps towards the
nearest clump of timber. At their first step amongst its dry twigs and
branches, there was a crash amongst the bushes and a form of yellowish
brown shot past them like an arrow.

Charley's rifle flew to his shoulder and its sharp crack woke the
echoes in the little wood. "It's a deer and I have got it," he
exclaimed, dashing off after the animal which was staggering and
wavering as it ran.

Walter paused only to hang his birds high up in the crotch of a big
tree, and followed after his chum.

But the deer, though wounded and losing blood at every step, was really
running faster than either of the boys calculated. It soon became
evident to both that they would have to work hard to overhaul the
wounded creature before it entered the main forest on the other side of
the prairie. Once amongst the dense growth, it would soon lose its
pursuers.

Walter was only a few feet in the rear of his chum and running at the
top of his speed when Charley stopped so short and unexpectedly that he
collided with him with such force as to bring both to the ground.

"Look," exclaimed Charley breathlessly, as he pointed ahead, "did you
ever see such a repulsive sight?"

Charley had stopped just in time, not fifteen feet from where the two
had fallen, was a deep, sauce