DEER IN SUMMER. 61 



reason for my opinion at all. Certainty 

 does not always depend upon proofs that 

 can be explained. A secret judgment exists 

 in the mind and acts on perceptions too 

 delicate to be registered. I was certain it 

 was a stag, and the glass at once confirmed 

 my eyes. 



He was standing in the fern beside a bush, 

 with his head down as if feeding. The great 

 oak woods were about him, above and below, 

 and the sunlight fell on the golden red of 

 his coat. A whistle the sound was a mo- 

 ment or two reaching him made him lift 

 his head, and the upright carriage of the 

 neck proved again that it was a stag and 

 not a hind. His antlers had not yet risen 

 as high as his ears. Another whistle he 

 lifted his head yet higher but did not move, 

 for he knew he was safe. The whistle 

 sounded to him faint across the hollow 

 space, and his keen eyes and still keener 



