Page:Southern Life in Southern Literature.djvu/43

Rh defiance would have broken forth from every tongue, then so mute. At last came Loveleap, fagged, and somewhat fretted by his ill success. &quot;I have been blowing till I've split my wind, and not a dog has come to my horn. How came you thrown out? and why have you kept such an incessant braying of horns? Why, how is this? the dogs are here?&quot;

&quot;Yes! they have shown their sense in coming to us; there's been butchery hereabouts!&quot;

&quot;One of P——'s cattle killed by the runaways, I suppose.&quot; &quot;Will you lend us your boy to bring a cart?&quot; I said.

&quot;Certainly, says Loveleap; &quot;it will make such a feast for the dogs; but where is the cow?" &quot;Here!&quot; says Geordy, kicking off the myrtle screen and revealing to the sight of his astonished comrade our three layers of venison! Oh, you should have seen Loveleap's face!

The cart is brought, and our four deer are soon on their way home. Do you think we accompanied them? No! We were so merciless as to meditate still further havoc. The day was so little spent—and as our hands were in, and there was just in the next drive an overgrown old buck who often had the insolence to baffle us—no! we must take a drive at him! Again the hounds are thrown into cover, headed by our remaining driver; but in the special object of our move we failed—the buck had decamped. Still, the fortune of the day attended us; and an inquisitive old turkey gobbler, having ventured to peep at Geordy where he lay in ambush, was sprawled by a shot from his gun and was soon seen dangling from his saddlebow.

This closed our hunt. And now that we have a moment's breathing time, tell me, brother sportsmen who may chance to read this veritable history, has it ever been your fortune, in a