Macon beacon. [volume] (Macon, Miss.) 1859-1995, 1893-10-28

fact that II was being pursued, and
now not only its head and neck but its
shoulders also We're thrown high out IF
water a. it strained every muscle in
the effort TO escape. | bent t. the oars
again with redoubled energy, and the
strange race swept on. The p~erspira.
ton began to run down nv face in
streams; my arms tel; as If they were
turned to lead, and my hear. throbbed
painfully.
The ext time I looked over nv
shoulder l was thunderstruck to sec
that the deer had gained upon me more
than forty yards. l dropped my oars in
despair and sat watching il; but stran.
ger still, though the deer kept swim.
ming on as before, the distance between
us seemed neither to increase nor les
sen. Long after my boat had lost all
its Roadway, ! was unable 70 see that
the antlered head was any farther
away than before,
At length, in a dazed kind Of way, !
picked up ny rife and began 10 fire.
The bullets rained all around the swim.
ming deer. Some Of them. from the ap-
pearance Of the jets u water which
they threw up, must l thought have
passed directly through it. fred
the seventeen shots in my magazine.
and then shot a number Of times sing
~. slipping the she'll directly into the
barrel While I was stiu firing. a cloud
came over the sun. and d slight breeze
began 10 ripple the water. As If by
magic, The deer's head disappeared. /
rowed 70 the spot where | had seen it
last. stood up in the boat. and looked
around me on every side. Not an Oh.
Jet was visible upon the surface Of the
water. Even If had killed the buck.
II would have sunk. as deer are .'in the
blue in the latter part Of October, and
the long hair OF their 1inter coat buors
them up 20 that they float like ducks.
! began 10 row toward the shore,
hoping 10 run across the mysterious
buck again. Al at once the sun reap
peared, the surface Of the water stilled.
and my heart leaped into my throat az
! saw the antlcred head drawing near
the shore, which was now less than a
hundred yards from where | sat. |
slipped three or four cartridges into
my magazine, and, carefully marking
the point toward which the deer was
swimming, pulled for it with all my
might. ! hoped to be near enough.
when the buck raised his entire BODY
out OF the water, % get in two or three
quick shots. And in this / was not
disappointed. Swinging my boa.
around when within about forty yards
Of shore, | saw the big buck emerging
on a strip Of beach He stood there for
a moment, as dark and clcar-cut against
the woods as d cameo. took careful
aim and fired once, twice, three times.
AT the last shot the buck made a leap
into the woods and was gone!
! rowed 10 the little strip Of beach
where ] had seen him standing, The |
sand was 50 light and smooth that a
squirrel would have left the imprint Of |
his foot there. But not a track could |
lind on any part Of the beach. Nor wa
the earth displaced or tho bushes dis
where the deer seemed to have
made his leap into the woods.
returned TO the boat and sat think |
ing over my strange experience until /
heard three guns from c~amp-the even
ing signal for return. As | rowed into
the little bay where the other boats
were drawn up, the boys all shouted in
chorus:
Hello. What were you shooting at?"
And / responded, confidently: "a