ched. "Wall, they hain't any, d'ye see? We got a
fine leetle buck here as Si fetched down with his big bore cannon; only
fur him the deer's been in ther next county afore now, eh, Si?" and the
giant as he said this, turned on the man who wore the greasy suit of
buckskin, and sported a coonskin cap, after the style of the old-time
hunters, now so nearly extinct.

"That's right, Cale, he'd a ben agoin' like two-forty yet, on'y for the
ounce of lead I throwed into him on the jump. I guess as haow that
leetle pepper box jest tickled him a mite, an' made him feel frisky.
Step right up, an' take a look at _my_ buck, ef so be yeou wanter,
strangers; I hain't begrudgin' yeou that much conserlation; but doan't
yeou be sayin' yeou had any hand in knockin' him over, 'cause I don't
stand fur any foolishness, see?"

He looked particularly ugly when saying this last, and Thad knew there
was not the slightest shadow of a chance that they would get justice
from these fellows. Seeing the sadly wounded deer plunging blindly
toward them, Si had fired at the animal, and now they claimed to own the
prize!

Well, there was no use trying to make a fuss over it; two boys could
hardly expect to overawe three such hardened woods' rangers as these.
Nevertheless, for his own satisfaction Thad accepted the rude invitation
of Si Kedge to advance closer, so that he could stand over the deer.

Something caught his eye as he looked, and bending down he deftly took
the object from the motionless body of the deer, just back of the
shoulder, where a patch of blood appeared.

Thad held the object up so that all could see. Even Step Hen recognized
it as the mushroomed bullet that had been fired from his rifle. The
evidence was as positive and clear as noonday; for that bullet, after
spreading out, had bored completely through the body of the buck, and
was ready to drop from the other side when it caught the sharp eye of
Thad. And that other wound in the neck must have been where the boasted
large calibre bullet from Si's big gun had gone, producing only a
superficial hurt that would not have seriously inconvenienced the sturdy
buck.

"Oh! that's my bullet!" exclaimed Step Hen, hardly comprehending what a
storm his words might bring about their ears; "and just as you said,
Thad, I hit him in the side where his heart lies. That would have killed
him in a short time, I just guess, don't you, Thad?"

But Thad did not make any answer. He was keeping his