1.”The hunt is over，youngster.The deer must have taken to the hills.There is no use in watching longer.“This speech was welcome enough to Joe Benton，for he had stood on a rocky point on the shore of the lake，watching for the deer since daylight，and it was nownearly noon.Joe put his rifle into the skiff，and rowedtoward the small island where the party of deer-hunters was encamped.The other hunters decided to spend the rest of the day in duck-shooting farther up the lake；but Joe was tired，and he offered to keep house while the others were away.
2.The early twilight was coming on，and Joe must have been dozing a little，when he was startled by hearing the baying of hounds.He ran down to thebeach where his skiff was moored，and listened.
As he looked out oa the lake，he saw there a sight to gladden a hunter‘s eyes.Not a hundred yards awaya huge buckwas swimming along near the bank；buthe had already seen the boy，and instead of striking outinto the lake，he was skirtingthe island.
3.There was no time to be lost.Without going back to get his rifle，Joe jumped into his boat，and rowed so as to head off the deer from the land and drive himinto the lake.The buck tossed his antlers，and nowstarted boldly toward the opposite shore of the lake.Joe could easily keep alongside；but how was he to kill his game？He wished for his Winchester rifle，whichwas standing in a corner of the hut with its chambersfull of cartridges ！
4.There was a way of killing a swimming deer which he had heard of，but had never tried.This was to drown it，by catching its hind legs and forcing its head below the surface.
Rowing close up to the deer，he dropped his oars，and，as the animal gave a great plunge，he caught one of its hind legs with his right hand；but he could not reach the other leg.
5.The animal turned furiously on its pursuer，and threw both front feet and half its body upon thegunwale water.
The little boat capsized，and Joe fell into theIn a moment he came to the surface，half blinded by his sudden plunge.The boat was floating bottom up some yards away.Joe began to swim towards it.
6.An angry snort behind him caused him to turn his head.There，coming towards him，not ten feet away，was the buck，its eyes flashing angrily，Joe knew that an old buck when brought to bay some times shows fight.On land，deer are timid，shy creatures；but here the ease was different.The buck was a much better swimmer than the boy，and seemed to know it.
7.Joe saw that the deer would be upon him before he could reach the boat.Just before the angry creature reached him，he turned and dived，and took several rapid strokes under water.When he rose to the surface，he was close to the deer，and，with a great effort，he flung himself upon the buck’s back，and grasped its antlers.
8.Then began a struggle in the like of which Joe had never before taken part.The animal threw itself about furiously in its endeavours to get rid of its rider.But the boy had a strong hold with both hands and knees，and clung with desperate tenacity .
9.At first Joe enjoyed his wild ride.But he soonbecame exhausted.A few more struggles on thedeer‘s part would compel him to let go.Fortunately the animal was also growing tired，and would need all its strength to reach the shore.But now a new danger arose.Suppose it should not have strength enough to carry him ashore？He himself felt unable to swim a dozen yards.
10.They were now not more than a quarter of a mile from land，but the buck was growing very weak.Joeslipped off its back，and holding himself up by placing one hand on its antlers，he swam alongside.They now made a little more headway.The deer made no effort to harm his companion in danger.Joe was dizzy and weak，but he could see the bank not more than a hundred yards away.Would they ever reach it？Every few yards the deer’s head went under water，and it was evident that it could swim but little further with the boy‘s weight to support.
11.A feeling of pity made Joe let go the deer，and the two swam slowly along，side by side.The boy’s strength was almost gone，and the water was gurgling in his ears，when he heard a shout behind him，and he was caught by a strong arm and drawn into a boat.
As Joe lay against the side of the boat，a man on the seat next him raised his rifle，but the boy struck up the barrel.
“The deer belongs to me if to anybody，”he said，“and I want to let him go.”
12.Joe‘s friends，the party of duck-hunters，lookedat him with surprise；but no one offered to molestthebuck，which climbed ashore and disappeared in the woods.
That evening，when Joe told his story，the general opinion was that he had done right.
“When Joe is telling of this day’s work，”said one old hunter，“to point to a pair of antlers would not be so good an ending to his story，as to say that he saved thelife of the deer that towedhim ashore.”
