keep a foot or two to the side of me so as to have a 

 clear view ; and when he knew by my manner that 

 I thought there was game near, he kept so close up 

 that he would often bump against my heels as I walked, 

 or run right into my legs if I stopped suddenly. Often 

 when stalking buck very quietly and cautiously, thinking 

 only of what was in front, I would get quite a start 

 by feeling something bump up against me behind. 

 At these times it was impossible to say anything 

 without risk of scaring the game, and I got into the 

 habit of making signs with my hand which he under- 

 stood quite as well. 



Sometimes after having crawled up I would be in 

 the act of aiming when he would press up against me. 

 Nothing puts one off so much as a touch or the ex- 

 pectation of being jogged when in the act of firing, and 

 I used to get angry with him then, but dared not 

 breathe a word ; I would lower my head slowly, turn 

 round, and give him a look. He knew quite well what 

 it meant. Down would go his ears instantly, and he 

 would back away from me a couple of steps, drop his 

 stump of a tail and wag it in a feeble deprecating 

 way, and open his mouth into a sort of foolish laugh. 

 That was his apology ! " I beg your pardon : it 

 was an accident ! I won't do it again." 



It was quite impossible to be angry with him, he 

 was so keen and he meant so well ; and when he saw 

 me laughing softly at him, he would come up again 

 close to me, cock his tail a few inches higher and wag 

 it a bit faster. 



There is a deal of expression in a dog's tail : 

 119 



