When the boy had come near enough he passed back his rifle, and his lips formed the almost noiseless word, "Shoot!" Tremblingly Rod seized the gun and looked into the swamp ahead, Mukoki doubling down in front of him.

What he saw sent him for a moment into the first nervous tremor of buck fever.

Not more than a hundred yards away stood a magnificent buck browsing the tips of a clump of hazel, and just beyond him were two does.

With a powerful effort Rod steadied himself.

The buck was standing broadside, his head and neck stretched up, offering a beautiful shot at the vital spot behind his fore leg.