of the efforts against his life. Had he possessed his faculties, he
could not have done anything more for his protection than he did, by
lying motionless, extended along and below the trunk of the oak.

But the lusty, rugged nature of the lad soon asserted itself, and he
began rallying from the shock. A reaction gradually set in, and slowly
his senses returned.

It was a considerable time, however, before he realized where he was
and what had befallen him. His head was still ringing, as though the
clangor of a hundred anvils were sounding in his ears, and, when he drew
a deep breath, a pain, as if made by a knife, was in his side.

He listened, but heard nothing of his enemy. Then, with a great labor
and more suffering, he pushed himself a few inches backward, so as to
give some freedom to his body and to enable him to move his head.

Turning his face, he peered out on his right: the buck was not visible
in that direction.

Then he did the same toward the left: his enemy was invisible on that
side also.

"He is gone," said the lad to himself, still afraid to venture from the
shielding trunk that had been the means of saving him from the fury of
the enraged deer.

Nick believed he was close at hand, waiting for him to make a move that
would give another chance to assault him.