III. "Too PLUCKY"

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The only dog with us was licking a cut on her shoulder the result of an unauthorized rush at a wounded buck-and after an examination of her wound we had wandered over the account of how she had got it, and so on to discussing the dog herself. Rocky sat in silence, smoking and looking into the fire, and the little discussion was closed by some one saying, "She's no good for a hunting dog- too plucky!" It was then I saw Rocky's eyes turned slowly on the last speaker; he looked at him thoughtfully for a good minute, and then remarked quietly:

"Thar ain't no sich thing as too plucky!" And with that he stopped, almost as if inviting contradiction. Whether he wanted a reply or not one cannot say; anyway, he got none. took Rocky on unnecessarily; and at his leisure he resumed: No one "Thar's brave men; an' thar's fools; an' you kin get some that's both. But thar's a whole heap that ain't! An' it's jus' the same with dawgs. She's no fool, but she ain't been taught: that's what's the matter with her. Men ha' got to larn: dawgs too! Men ain't born equal: no more's dawgs! One's born better 'n another more brains, more heart; but I ain't yet heard o' the man born with knowledge or experience; that's what they got to learn men an' dawgs! The born fool's got to do fool's work all the time: but the others larn; and the brave man with brains 's got a big pull. He don't get shook up-jus' keeps on thinkin' out his job right along, while th' other feller's worryin' about his hide! An' dawgs is the same." Rocky's eyes-forever grave and thoughtful-rested on the fire; and the remarks that came from the other men passed

unnoticed, but they served to keep the subject alive. Presently he went on again opening with an observation that caused

-

me to move uneasily before there was time to think why!

much, an' not too soon. ef a man's never made a mistake he's never had a good lesson. Ef you don't pay for a thing you don't know what it's worth; and mistakes is part o' the price o' knowledge- the other part

They got ter larn themselves. I reckon

is work! But mistakes is the part you don't like payin': thet's why you remember it. You save a boy from makin' mistakes and ef he's got good stuff in him, most like you spoil it. He don't know anything properly, 'cause he don't think; an' he don't think 'cause you saved him the trouble an' he never learned how! He don't know the meanin' o' consequences and risks, 'cause you kep' 'em off him! An' bymbye he gets ter believe it's born in him ter go right, an' knows everything, an' can't go wrong; an' ef things don't pan out in the end he reckon it's jus' bad luck! No! sirree! Ef he's got ter swim you let him know right there that the water's deep an' thar ain't no one to hol' him up, an' ef he don't wade in an' larn, it's goin' ter be his funeral!"

My eyes were all for Rocky, but he was not looking my way, and when the next remark came, and my heart jumped and my hands and feet moved of their own accord, his face was turned quite away from me towards the man on his left.

"An' it's jus' the same 'ith huntin'! It looks so blamed easy he reckons it don't need any teachin'. Well, let him try! Leave him run on his own till his boots is walked off an' he's like to set down and cry, ef he wasn't 'shamed to; let him know every purtickler sort o' blamed fool he can make of himself; an' then

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he's fit to teach, 'cause he'll listen, an' watch, an' learn — an' say thank ye fer it! Mostly you got ter make a fool o' yourself once or twice ter know what it feels like an' how t' avoid it: best do it young-it teaches a boy; but it kind o' breaks a man up!"

I kept my eyes on Rocky, avoiding the others, fearing that a look or word might tempt some one to rub it in; and it was a relief when the old man naturally and easily picked up his original point and, turning another look on Jess, said:

"You got ter begin on the pup. It ain't her fault; it's yours. She's full up o' the right stuff, but she got no show to larn! Dawgs is all different, good an' badsome larns quick; some'll never larn. But ther' ain't any too just like men; plucky!"

He tossed a chip of green wood into the heart of the fire and watched it spurtle and smoke, and, after quite a long pause, added: "Thar's times when a dawg's got to see it through an' be killed. It's his dooty same as a man's. I seen it done!" The last words were added with a narrowing of his eyes and a curious softening of voice as of personal affection or regret. Others noticed it too; and in reply to a question as to how it had happened Rocky explained in a few words that a wounded buffalo had waylaid and tossed the man over its back, and as it turned again to gore him the dog rushed in between, fighting it off for a time and eventually fastening on to the nose when the buffalo still pushed on. The check enabled the man to reach his gun and shoot the buffalo; but the dog was trampled to death. "Were you ?" some one began—and then at the look in Rocky's face, hesitated. Rocky, staring into the fire, answered: "It was my dawg!"

IV. ANOTHER HUNTING LESSON

It was still dark, with a faint promise of saffron in the east, when I felt a hand on my shoulder and heard Rocky's voice saying, "Comin' along, sonny?"

Rocky was different that day. He showed me things; reading the open book of nature that I could not understand. He pointed out the spoors going to and from the drinking-place, and named the various animals; showed me one more deeply indented than the rest and, murmuring "Scared, I guess," pointed to where it had dashed off out of the regular track; picked out the big splayed pad of the hyena sneaking round under cover.

A little later we watched a little red steinbuck get up from his form, shake the dew from his coat, stretch himself, and then pick his way daintily through the wet grass, nibbling here and there as he went. Rocky did not fire; he wanted something better.

After the sun had risen, flooding the whole country with golden light, and, while the dew lasted, making it glisten like a bespangled transformation scene, we came on a patch of old long grass and, parted by some twenty yards, walked through it abreast. There was a wild rush from under my feet, a yellowish body dashed through the grass, and I got out in time to see a rietbuck ram cantering away. Then Rocky, beside me, gave a shrill whistle; the buck stopped, side on, looked back at us, and Rocky dropped it where it stood. Instantly following the shot there was another rush on our left, and before the second rietbuck had gone thirty yards Rocky toppled it over in its tracks. From the whistle to the second shot it was all done in

about ten seconds. To me it looked like magic. I could only gasp.

We cleaned the bucks, and hid them in a bush. There was meat enough for the camp then, and I thought we would return at once for the boys to carry it; but Rocky, after a moment's glance round, shouldered his rifle and moved on again. I followed, asking no questions.

We went on again, and a quarter of an hour later, it may be, Rocky stopped, subsided to a sitting position, beckoned to me, and pointed with his levelled rifle in front. It was a couple of minutes before he could get me to see the steinbuck standing in the shade of a thorn tree. I would never have seen it but for his whisper to look for something moving: that gave it to me; I saw the movement of the head as it cropped.

"High: right!" was Rocky's comment, as the bullet ripped the bark off a tree and the startled steinbuck raced away. In the excitement I had forgotten his advice already!

But there was no time to feel sick and disgusted; the buck, puzzled by the report on one side and the smash on the tree on the other, half circled us and stopped to look back. Rocky laid his hand on my shoulder:

"Take your time, sonny!" he said, "Aim low; an' don't pull ! Squeeze!" And at last I got it.

We had our breakfast there the liver roasted on the coals, and a couple of "dough-boys," with the unexpected addition of a bottle of cold tea, weak and unsweetened, produced from Rocky's knapsack! We stayed there a couple of hours, and that is the only time he really opened out. I understood then - at last that of his deliberate kindliness he had come out