was
a terrible crashing among their antlers; and Harry and I looked to see
whether a pair of them had not been knocked off in the concussion; but
it appeared not. After this, the two struggled for a while, and then
suddenly paused--still head to head--as though by a tacit agreement, in
order to take breath. For some moments they stood quietly in this
attitude, and then once more commenced struggling. After a while they
stopped again, still keeping their heads together, so that their red
expanded nostrils steamed into each other. We thought that they fought
quite differently from all the rest; but our eyes were now drawn to the
others, who were getting nearer us; and we prepared our rifles to
receive them. At length several came within range; and, each of us
choosing one, we fired almost simultaneously. At the double crack one
of the bucks fell; and the other three, on perceiving the common enemy,
immediately desisted from their mutual warfare, and bounded off like
lightning. Harry and I rushed forward, as we had fired; and thinking
that the deer which we had missed--it was Harry's miss that time--might
be wounded, we unmuzzled the dogs, and let them after. Of course, we
had stooped down to perform this operation. What was our surprise, on
looking up again, to see the two old bucks still in the glade, and
fighting, head to head, as briskly as ever!

"Our first thought was to reload our pieces, but the dogs had been let
loose; and these, instead of pursuing the other deer, dashed forward at
the bucks, and the next moment sprang upon their flanks. Harry and I
rushed after, and you may guess that our surprise was still further
increased when we saw the bucks, instead of separating, still struggle
head to head--as if their desperate hostility for each other had
rendered them reckless of every other danger! When we got forward to
the spot, the mastiffs had brought both of them to their knees; and now
for the first time we perceived the true cause why they had continued
their singular combat--because they could not help themselves--their
_antlers were locked in each other_! Yes,--held as firmly as if they
had been lashed together by thongs cut out of their own hides. Indeed,
far more firmly, for after we had beaten off the dogs, and secured the
animals from the chance of escaping, we found their horns so
interlocked--one pair within the other--that we could not separate them
with all our efforts. We had sadly wr