Argosy, Vol. 1 (1882) — page 194: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

BLACK CLOUD PEAK. by river; into the blue ether soared a swallow, singing as it soared. Dimly as from a distance a bird note reached him—plaintive, clear and sweet—until the singer was lost in the immensity of 185 space; and then it was that into his steadfast eyes there crept a shadow. Blindly groping he stretched out his hands. They touched a blossoming spray—a bit of rosemary. BLACK CLOUD PEAK. BY E. E. YOUMANS. An adventure on an amateur deer hunting expedition, wherein is recounted how a foolhardy ambition hung its possessor from the literal verge of destruction. +) HE dogs suddenly began barking fiercely, and a moment later a preat racket was heard in the under- brush. The hunters paused, and with their guns held ready for instant use, waited to see what was coming. They were much excited ; it was their first experience at deer hunting, and from the baying of the approaching hounds they were sure a stag had broken cover. Opdyke was the coolest of the party, but even he could not master entirely his agitation as he said: “Be sure you take good aim; we must no ” The sentence was never concluded, for at that moment the bushes before them were suddenly parted, and a mag- nificent deer burst into view with the dogs in close pursuit. The men were so excited that they forgot to shoot, and swift as the wind the game bounded across the clearing, and not until it had nearly reached the other side was any attempt made to bring it down. Then Opdyke recovered himself suf- ficiently to shout: Fire!” At the same moment he leveled his gtm and pressed the trigger, but the re- port of his own weapon was the only one heard, and the stag was seen to sway slightly, stumble, then recover itself and bound madly on. | The shot had not been wasted, but the aim was not sufficiently accurate to | prove fatal, and the amateur sportsman turned to his friends, demanding an- grily: | “ Why didn’t you shoot? I told you todo so. If we'd all fired together we’d have brought him down. You’re a fine . lot of chumps, anyhow.” “Don’t be so fast,” cried Sam Bol- ton. “ You have nothing to boast of; you were so excited yourself that you almost forgot to fire.” “ T did, eh? Well, I'll have that deer anyhow, and don’t you forget it,” con- tinued Opdyke with energy. “I don’t think you will,” Bolton re- joined doubtfully. “He’s making straight for Black Cloyd Peak, and that’s a dangerous section to travel over.” “ T don’t care; I’m going over it, and 1f you fellows don’t want to follow me you can go around the mountain, and meet me on the plains below.” “ You’d better not,” said Tremley. ‘ There’s precipices and chasms in the peak which the deer won’t be able to pass, to say nothing of a man.” | “I’m going all the same. There’s no use asking any of youto go along, for I see you're all afraid. Meet me on the other side of the mountain, and I'll have the deer with me.” saying which Opdyke, who had slipped a fresh shell into his gun, shouldered the weapon and started off. He was angry at himself for having become so excited when the game first ECOMRRIC Oe CO