THE WANDERER 105 



And Moosewa was not worth fighting ; the old 

 bull decided that at once. Not worth fighting 

 now, but — and the critic looked at the growing 

 depth of shoulder and strength of limb — later I 

 Ah ! Time and another moose would tell. 



At first it was more or less a matter of indiffer- 

 ence to the bull whether the young moose followed 

 or not. The forest was wide enough for all. But 

 after two days of persistent tracking and humble 

 imitation, the subtle flattery of such close attention 

 counted for something with a beast long past his 

 prime. 



Some moose, like some people, never show old 

 age until they try to hide it. The bull was a 

 very old creature really, though he endeavoured 

 to disguise it under an appearance of agility which 

 cost him an effort to keep up. His head was going 

 off yearly, having long since reached its maximum 

 development, and the bell hanging below his thick 

 throat was bedraggled and slack, a mere piece of 

 loose skin. For all that he seemed a wonderful 

 beast to his young admirer, who followed obediently 

 wheresoever the bull went. 



He did not take any trouble to guard his antlers 



from the blows rained on them by branches of 



14 



