toes 'fore they git very nigh us."

This did not quite agree with the tales he had previously been
telling. I went for my sword, and buckled its belt about me, the
scabbard hanging to my heels. Presently some creature came
bounding over the brush. I saw him break through the wall of
darkness and stop quickly in the firelight. Then D'ri brought him
down with his rifle.

"Started him up back there 'n the woods a few mild," said D'ri.
"He was mekin' fer this 'ere pond--thet 's what he was dewin'."

"What for?" I inquired.

"'Cause fer the reason why he knowed he would n't mek no tracks 'n
the water, ner no scent," said D'ri, with some show of contempt for
my ignorance.

The deer lay floundering in the briers some fifty feet away. My
father ran with his knife and put him quickly out of misery. Then
we hauled the carcass to clear ground.

"Let it lie where 't is fer now," said he, as we came back to the
fire. Then he got our two big traps out of the cart and set them
beside the carcass and covered them with leaves. The howling of
the wolves had ceased. I could hear only the creaking of a dead
limb high above us, and the bellow of frogs in the near pond. We
had fastened the trap chains and were coming back to the fire, when
the dog rose, barking fiercely; then we heard the crack of D'ri's
rifle.