They had reached an opening in the forest, by the side of what was evidently a mountain of considerable height, and the doctor smiled as he recalled the fact that the Argus pheasant was reputed to haunt such places; when to his intense delight there soddenly rang out from the distance on the silent night air a peculiar cry that resembled the name given to the bird--_Coo-ow_. For the moment it seemed to the doctor as if some Australian savage was uttering his well-known _Coo-ay_, or as if this was the Malays' form of the cry. But he knew well enough what it was, and following his guide with the greatest caution, they crept on towards the place from which the sound had seemed to come. It was weird work in that wild solitude far on towards midnight, but the doctor was too keen a naturalist to think of anything but the specimen of which he was in search. He knew that the native hunters, out night after night, could not shoot more than one of these birds in a year, and it would be quite a triumph if he could add such a magnificent thing to his collection. _Coo-ow_--rang out the strange cry, and it seemed quite near. Then again _Coo-ow_, and this time it appeared to be a long way off. This was tantalising, but he concluded directly after, that the second cry might be that of another bird answering the first. They were now in amongst a number of low bushes, which gave them cover, while it made the surrounding country less black than when they were in the jungle-path. There they could only grope their way with outstretched hands; here they could have gone on at a respectable foot pace without danger of running against some impediment in the path. The doctor cocked both barrels of his gun, after opening the breech and making sure that the cartridges were in their place, and, in momentary expectation of setting a shot, he kept close behind the Malay. _Coo-ow_! came the cry again, this time a little to the left; and the Malay stretched out a hand behind him to grasp that of the doctor as he went cautiously on. _Coo-ow_! again, but a little farther off, and with his nerves throbbing with excitement, the doctor kept up the chase, now seeming close to the bird, then being left behind, but never once getting within shot. It was very provoking, but the guide was in earnest, and the doctor would have gone through ten times the trouble to achieve his end. And so they stole on through the thick brushwood, with the bird repeating its cry so near from time to time as to make them feel that they must get a shot directly; but still the hope was deferred. A lighter patch in front showed that the forest was a little more open, and the Malay loosed the doctor's hand for a moment to clamber over a block of stone--when there was a rushing noise, what seemed to be a heavy blow, a hoarse cry, and then silence, broken directly after by a low deep growling, just in front of where Doctor Bolter stood--petrified and unable to move.