halloo,"--we goes stampedin' down the pike in pursoot.

"'Our dogs is sta'nch; they shore does themse'fs proud. Singin' in
twenty keys, reachin' from growls to yelps an' from yelps to shrillest
screams, they pushes dauntlessly on the fresh trail of their terrified
quarry. Now an' then we gets a squint of the panther as he skulks from
one copse to another jest ahead. Which he's goin' like a arrow; no
mistake! As for us Chevy Chasers, we parallels the hunt, an'
continyoos poundin' the Skinner turnpike abreast of the pack, ever an'
anon givin' a encouragin' shout as we briefly sights our game.

"'Gents,' says Colonel Sterett, as he ag'in refreshes himse'f, 'it's
needless to go over that hunt in detail. We hustles the flyin' demon
full eighteen miles, our faithful dogs crowdin' close an' breathless at
his coward heels. Still, they don't catch up with him; he streaks it
like some saffron meteor.

"'Only once does we approach within strikin' distance; that's when he
crosses at old Stafford's whiskey still. As he glides into view,
Crittenden shouts:

"'"Thar he goes!"

"'For myse'f I'm prepared. I've got one of these misguided
cap-an'-ball six-shooters that's built doorin' the war; an' I cuts that
hardware loose! This weepon seems a born profligate of lead, for the
six chambers goes off together. Which you should have seen the Chevy
Chasers dodge! An' well they may; that broadside ain't in vain! My
aim is so troo that one of the r'armost dogs evolves a howl an' rolls
over; then he sets up gnawin' an' lickin' his off hind laig in frantic