feet away swimming feebly on the dark water. Soon the horsemen were all lined up behind the yelping hounds to behold the tragic end of this wonderful red fox who had given them such a marvelous run.
But, fate and Mother Nature were kinder than the men and the pack, for when Redcoat was about two hundred feet from the shore, and his strength was all but gone, he noticed something floating down in the current just above him. He lifted his weary head and discovered a plank about ten feet long and two feet wide drifting rapidly towards him. He stopped swimming until it floated almost under his nose, then he wearily put out his forepaws and with great exertion climbed upon it. At this sight a great shout went up from the watching horsemen on shore and one of their number pulled out a revolver and began shooting at the fox.
"Here, here, Bill," cried Denby, "put up your shooting iron and let's play the game squarely. I stipulated we should not carry firearms and we'll stick to that agreement."
