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160 THE SWISS FAMILY ROBINSON
they struck their horns and their hoofs upon the ground, which they tore up in pieces and scattered in the air. Turk and Flora, fearless of danger, ran right into the middle of them, and seizing the ears of a young buffalo, dragged him towards us. With a palpitating heart and trembling hands we fired both at the same moment; the buffaloes, terrified by the sound and by the smoke, remained for an instant motionless, as if struck by a thunderbolt, and then rushed away, and were soon beyond the reach of sight. Only one stayed behind, a female, who was no doubt the mother of the young buffalo which the dogs still kept a prisoner. She had been wounded, and now rushed furiously at the dogs. I aimed carefully and, luckily, killed her at the first shot.
I was wondering what we could do with the young buffalo, who bellowed and foamed with rage, when Jack suddenly pulled out of his pocket his string with balls at the ends, and throwing it skilfully, entangled the buffalo's legs and brought him to the ground.
But, by this action, the difficulty was only partly solved. The question was now how we were to get him home. I remembered a way practised with bulls in Spain, which, though cruel, is effective^ |
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