On the following morning, at the first faint glimmering of light, Micah was alert. He shook our young hero's shoulder and woke him from a pleasant dream.
"Neow's the time, Captin'", said Micah, speaking in a cautious undertone, "neow's the time, ef we do it at all, to nab them deer. While your gittin' rigged and takin' a cold bite, I'll tell ye the lay o' things. Ye see, don't ye, that pint o' land ahead on us, a juttin' out into the stream? Well, we've got to put the canoe on the water right away, hustle in the things, and percede just as whist and keerful as we ken, to that pint. Jest beyend that, I expect the animils, when day's fairly up, will come to drink. And there's where we'll get a shot at 'em".
"But what makes you expect they'll come to drink at that particular place, Micah?"
"You see that pooty steep hill, that slopes up jest back o' the pint o' land, don't ye? Well, behind that hill which is steeper 'n it looks to be, there's a largish, level piece of greound that's been burnt over within a few years, and it's grown up to tall grass and got a number o' clumps of young trees on it, and it's 'bout surreounded by a lot o' master rocky hills. That's the feedin' greound. There's a deep gorge cut right inter that hill, back 'o the pint. The gorge has a pooty smooth rocky bed. In the spring o' the year, there's a brook runs through there and pours inter the river jest below. But it's all dry neow, and the deer, as a gen'al thing scramble eout of their feedin' place into this gorge and foller it deown to the river to git their drink. It brings 'em eout jest below the pint. We have got neow to cross over to the pint, huggin' the bank, so the critters shan't see us, and take a shot from there. Git yer piece ready, Captin. Ef there's tew, or more, I'll hev the fust shot and you the second. Don't speak, arter we git on to the pint, the leastest word".
"I understand", said John, as he examined his rifle, to see that all was right.
"Now for it", said Micah, as having finished their arrangements, they entered the canoe.
Silently, they paddled along, sheltered from observation by the little wooded promontory and following as nearly as possible the crankling river as it indented into the land. In a few minutes, they landed and proceeded noiselessly to get a view of, the bank below.
After a moment's reconnoitre, John turned his face towards Micah with a look of blank disappointment.
But Micah looked cool and expectant. He merely pointed up the rocky gorge and said under his breath—
"'T aint time to expect 'em yet. The wind, what there is on it, is favorable tew,—it blows right in our faces and can't kerry any smell of us to 'em. Neow hide yourself right away. Keep near me, Captin', so that we ken make motions to each other".