CHAPTER VIII.
LOOK BEFORE YOU LEAP.
Crouching behind the friendly boulder, Fred Greenwood rested the barrel of his Winchester upon it and took careful aim at the buck, which seemed scarcely to have moved from the moment he was seen by the youths.

That he maintained his pose thus long was certainly remarkable, and the fact was due to a cause suspected by neither of the boys.
That the antelope has the bump of curiosity developed to a most amazing degree is well known.

It is this peculiarity which has proved fatal to the animals in numberless instances.

The curiosity of the _cervus_ species, while much less, sometimes manifests itself in an extraordinary fashion.

Fred Greenwood managed his approach with so much skill that he was not noticed; but his comrade, further away, was seen by the vigilant animal, when Jack, becoming impatient over the delay, began the attempt to follow him.