The two boys stood on the edge of a prairie which had a varying width of from one to three miles. Looking to the right and the left, neither end could be seen, so that there was no means of judging its length.  
The trail led straight across to the on the other side, which at that point was all of two miles distant. You can understand that walking was so much easier on the open ground that any party of travelers would hasten to take advantage of such a chance. The of the half dozen horses had left such a distinct impression that the eye could follow the trail a long ways from the of the woods.
 
This prairie was covered with a growth of succulent grass. The season was so late that it had lost most of its , but there was an abundance of nutriment in the blades and it was splendid feeding-ground—one of those breaks in the almost limitless forest of which grazing animals were sure to take advantage.
 
The boys had paused only a minute or two, gazing out on the almost level expanse, when Terry uttered an of delight and to the right. Looking in that direction (as Fred had done at the moment his companion spoke), he saw a welcome sight indeed. A of were cropping the grass within gunshot of the young hunters.
 
As I have said in another place, there were no such droves as have sometimes been seen on the vast prairies of the far west, numbering a hundred thousand, though a century ago some amazing collections of animals were met within sight of the Mississippi.
 
The herd upon which our friends looked with so much interest numbered little more than a hundred, and they were along the side of the prairie instead of cropping the grass in the middle of the plain. Some of them seemed to be among the trees and undergrowth, but the major part were over the prairie to a distance of two hundred yards, while they were strung to a still greater extent parallel with the course of the prairie itself. From this you will see they were much , none of them being close to another, except he may have brushed against him now and then.
 
The front of the drove was not less than two hundred feet away and others could be heard ruminating among the trees, where their huge bushy heads and big round eyes were often thrust into view. Some of them may have caught sight of the lads, but if so, they did not consider them worth attention, for they continued browsing and grazing, advancing step by step toward the spot where our young friends stood.
 
"Frederick," said Terry, laying his hand on the arm of his companion, and speaking with the gravity of a judge, "whin ye yer gaze on thim playthings out there, bear in mind that there's our breakfast, as me grandmither obsarved whin the dinner table upsit and ivery thing rolled down cellar."
 
"Our opinion is unanimous on that point; I have already selected my victim, and if you will go away and start a fire, it will hurry matters along."
 
"It ain't as bad as that," said Terry in some surprise, "I'm not so near dead that I'm goin' to die in ten minutes if I don't git somethin' to ate: I will stay and superintind the operations of shootin' one of them little pets out there."
 
"It isn't the first I have killed—"
 
"I'm not aware that ye have killed that yit," interrupted the Irish lad in his quizzical fashion.
 
"You soon will be, but I have been out with father before to-day and shot buffaloes: have you?"
 
"No; whin I goes out huntin' yer fither has't the proud distinction of bein' taken along. Lucky for the buffaloes I niver took a notion to go out and kill siveral thousand: for that raison we find the drove out there so innocent and confidin' that they don't know enough to be afeard of us."
 
"Maybe they have no cause to be."
 
"But they can't know that I'm not goin' to shoot among them,—so why shouldn't they be scared out of their siven sinses? Howsumiver, ye have me permission to show the animals that ye are actin' under me own eye and orders and it will be an incouragement to yersilf to know the same."
 
From what has been said, it will be understood that Fred Linden knew much more about buffaloes than did his companion. [The proper name is bison: the genuine buffalo is not found in America.] As he had said, this was not the first time he had hunted them, but with Terry Clark it was different. He had spent a good deal of his time in the woods and had gone in quest of wolves, bears and deer, but he had never brought down one of the animals for whose flesh he now with a that only the most hunger can inspire.
 
Terry had formed a deep plot during the short conversation. He did not know the best manner in which to shoot a buffalo and he was too proud to ask instruction. He encouraged the scheme, therefore, of Fred making the first274 shot. That would give him a chance to see how it was done, so that when he came to exhibit his skill, he would make no mistake.
 
Although up to this time the animals had not shown that they cared a straw for the two beings who stood so near and were looking at them with loaded guns in their hands, yet they were liable to become stampeded at any moment. A snort and jump by a single animal were likely to set the whole drove on a dead run, in which all hope of a breakfast on buffalo steaks would be gone for that morning at least.
 
So, as a matter of , Terry stayed where he was, but partly sheltered himself, so as not to startle any one of the animals that might come upon him suddenly. At the same time, Fred low and with loaded and cocked rifle began stealing toward the nearest buffalo.
 
As it happened this was a cow in fine condition. She was plucking a ribbon of grass that followed the edge of prairie. By some chemistry of shadow and suns............