The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1906-09-27

the bark reen behind it; but of the
canoe or the raddler he could see
nothing
Il was almost time to discharge
lis tlash-light: and he could scarcely
contain his laughter at the thought
Of the shock which the sudden brill
liant glare would give the pot hunter,
when he heard the quick, unmistak-
able click of irearm in the canoe!
And there was no game there-ex-
cept himself Like lightning it
came :,pon him that his own eyes
O. his slasses-had caught the light.
EIe was being stalked. BY lucky
: impulse he dropped upon his hands
: and knees, k -cking ever the tripod.
j rs he dropped, rifle shot banged
! from the canoe.
The long squirt Of flame seemed
almost to reach him, and the acrid
smoke was blown in his face. In
stinctively he tried to shout, but his
throat failed him. Only a sibilant
whisper car from his lips.
This was drowned in a yell from
the canoe
That hit him! He's down."
shouted two or three boyish voices,
and the canoe darted toward land
with a ~eat splashing Of paddles.
Again Murray tried desperately to
call out, but the relaxed vocal cords
refused to produce sound. 1t was
like nightmare; and fearing that he
would be shot before he was clearly
seen, he Sived with crash into the
swamp, md burrowed among tho
ferns.
There he goes!" shouted one
voice.
It's bear!' proclaimed another;
and another shot was fred after him.
Tie canoe grated upon the beach,
and the hunters juEped ashore. Muir
r~y tried to crawl deeper among the
tangled vines and evergreen shrub
berry, and smashed half dozen
t. inches.
That's no deer; it's bear for
CERTAIN" remarked one of the youth
full voices, with conviction. The
speaker was not thirty feet away.
Better be careful, for he's wounded.
Listen, and see if we can hear him.
There was silence for time, dur
ing which Murray hardly dared to
breathe. He had hopes lnat, failing
to hear or see him, they would pres
emily go away.
The whole affair seemed to him
like some preposterous and horrible
dream. These boys did not wan. to
kill him; but he was physically un-
able to call cut, and he was afraid
to move. In the gloom he would GER
tainly , shot at the :.'st glimpse;
and. curiously, his mind vas largely
occupied with the Lorror his slayers
would feel when they discovered
their mistake. After listening in
vain for some minutes, the hunters
began t. throw sticks and stones into
the swamp to make him show him
self.
Hes either dead or got away"
said some one. I'm going in after
him"
"Better rot, Billy. Be careful"
warned another; but cracking and
brushing among the cedar boughs
indicated that Billy was coming in.
1t struck Murray that the action was
plucky, if rather foolhardy.
The hunter advanced slowly. He
was hardly more than ten feet away,
but in the darkness, among the
dense growths, Murray could not see
a thread of him. He stopped at every
step, listened, and beat about with
his rine barrel, md some instinct led
him directly toward the spot where
Murray crouched behind the damp,
odorous cedar boughs.
He turned aside and receded, and
Murray's heart rose. But he came
back again, and zigzagged and cir
cled, drawing still nearer.
Murray was in an agony Of indecis-
ion whether to reveal himself or not.
But the decision was not left to him.
Billy came close TIL the barrel of his
extended rife swung over Murray's
head. The photographer could al
most have touched him, and another
step would bring him stumbling over
his body. With a desperate resolu-
ton Murray flung himself forward
and ciasped the boy round the legs,
crying, Don't shoot! It's man."
in a kind OF screaming whisper.
The hunter gave startled yell
and leap. There was an excited
shout from the rest of the party, and
S.. hing crashed upon Murray's
head. He seemed to sink through a
dark 6 If spangled with shooting
comets.
He came to himself with the gleam
of fire in his face. He was lying
on the beach, and his late hunters
were kneeling around him, anxiety
written upon every one CT their faces.
His head ached violently, and putting
his hand up, he discovered a lump
as large as an apple, on which was