LET US GO AFIELD 



but much depends upon the lay of the country. 

 Before the drivers begin their work they allow 

 plenty of time perhaps half an hour or more for 

 the hunters to take their stands on the farther side 

 of the thicket. Each man gets on top of some emi- 

 nence, so that he may shoot down and not across 

 the country. A good stand is a hill at the edge of 

 some marsh, where a path leads out of the thicket. 

 A driven deer will not always stick to his runway, 

 but he is most apt to pass out at some gap of the 

 high country surrounding the thicket. The hunter 

 on stand usually gets on top of a high stump, so 

 that he can cover as much country as possible 

 say, two hundred yards on each side. He ought 

 to be at his station as soon as it is light enough 

 to shoot, though several drives may be made later 

 in the day. 



The sound of a shot puts every station man on 

 his feet, eagerly watching his edge of the cover. 

 Perhaps, long before he hears the voices of the beat- 

 ers approaching, he may hear the faintest snapping 

 of a twig and wonder whether it is the work of the 

 wind, a bird or a deer. Then all at once, perhaps, 

 ghostlike not with any sudden crashing burst of 

 speed, but gently, easily, silently, astonishingly 

 gracefully a deer breaks cover before him or at 

 one side, you never can tell just how or where or 



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