This was exactly what the boys had wished for; and, when the buck had
made about ten rods from the shore, Archie took his seat at the oars,
and pulled the boat silently out from behind the point. The moment
they entered the lake, Lightfoot discovered the game, and uttered a
loud bark. The buck heard it, and his first impulse was to turn and
regain the shore he had just left. But Archie gave way on the oars
manfully, and succeeded in intercepting him; and the buck, finding
himself fairly cut off, uttered a loud snort, and, seeming to
understand that his only chance for escape was straight ahead, he
settled himself down in the water, and struck out again for the
opposite shore.
The dogs now all broke out into a continuous barking, and Archie
exclaimed, in an excited voice,
"Shoot him! shoot him!"
"He is too far off," answered Frank. "You must remember that our guns
are loaded with small shot. Give way lively!"
The boys very soon discovered that they had no easy task before them.
The light skiff, propelled by Archie's powerful strokes, danced
rapidly over the little waves; but the buck was a fast swimmer and
made headway through the water astonishingly.
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