Bang! It was the report of Barringford's rifle and the deer leaped high in the air, to fall dead immediately afterward.
"A good shot—" began Henry, when a noise behind him caused him to swing around swiftly. What he saw filled him with horror. A huge buck was glaring at him from the opposite end of the rocky eminence. In a second more the buck charged the crowd, rushing forward with lowered antlers and with the swiftness of the wind.
CHAPTER XXII
THE FIGHT WITH THE BUCK
"Look out!"
These were the only words Henry had time to utter and as they left his lips he leaped to one side as swiftly as possible.
Hardly knowing what Henry meant, Dave and Barringford stood their ground, looking first one way and then another.
On the instant the big buck came forward. His rush was aimed at Henry, but missing that youth, he went onward with a wild plunge, directly between Dave and Barringford.
"A buck!" yelled the frontiersman. "Back out, Dave, an' be quick about it!"