Dead Man's Land

by giving him a fierce thrust, and his own hand too, so as to bring down his doubled fist upon the library table.

"Look here, sir," he roared, "do you for a moment think that I would consent to be carried stretched out on a couple of poles raised shoulder high by a pack of niggers? Because if you do--"

"And sometimes," continued the doctor calmly, "the sure-footed ponies of a country are very much used by travellers and hunting parties, for it is necessary that the sportsman or naturalist should not be over fatigued and should keep his nerves steady, as at times his life or that of his companions may rest upon the ability to be true in his aim at some dangerous beast about to charge and strike him down."

"Humph! Yes. That's quite true, boys. A man can't shoot straight when he's pumped out with too much exertion. I have missed horribly sometimes after a long day's tramp seeing nothing worth shooting at; and then just at the end the birds have risen, or a hare has started up and given me an