and made more than one hole in his skin, while he
stuck a prong through my arm. I hollered for Crop, who was watching
the shanty as his duty was. The old buck and I had it rough and
tumble; sometimes one a-top, and sometimes the other, and both growin'
weak from loss of blood. May be we didn't kick and tussle about, and
tear up the sand on the beach of the lake _some!_ The buck was game to
the backbone, and had no notion of givin' in, and I had to fight for
it, or die; so up and down, over and over, and all around, we went for
a long time, until Crop made up his mind that my callin' so earnestly
meant something, and round the point he came. When he saw what was
goin' on, you ought to've seen how _he_ went in! He didn't stop to
ask any questions, but as if possessed by all the furies of creation
he lit upon that buck, and the fight was up. He with his teeth, and I
with my knife, settled the matter in less than a minute. But, Judge,
let me tell you, that buck was dangerous; and if Crop hadn't been
around, may be ther'd have been the bones of man and beast bleachin'
on the sandy beach of Mud Lake! I bound up my wounds as well as I
could--but it was tough work backin' my bark canoe over the carryin'
places on Bog River, and across the Ingen carryin' place, and from the
Upper Saranac to Bound Lake, with them holes in my leg and arm, and
the other bruises I received. When I got out to the settlements I was
mighty glad to lay still for six weeks, and when I got around again I
was a good deal leaner than I am now.

"My gun hangin' fire made my bullet go wide of the spot I aimed at. It
had grazed his skull and stunned him for a little time, and crazed him
into the bargain. I learned more fully a fact that I'd an idea of
before, by my fight with that deer, and it is this--that it's best to
keep out of the way of a furious buck with tall, sharp horns on his
head. He's a dangerous animal to handle.

"That's one of the adventures that I went out into the wilderness
arter, and found without lookin' for it; and I've found a good many
others that put me and Crop in a tight place more than once. I backed
him over all the carryin' places between Little Tupper's and the
Saranacs once, when he was too lame and weak to walk, and nussed him
for a month afterwards. But that's an adventer I'll tell another time.
There's a deal of excitement, as the Judge calls it, outside of the
fences, if people will take the pains to look for it there."