124 THE STORY OF THE TRAPPER 



A slight snowfall and the wind in his face are 

 ideal conditions for a still hunt. One conceals him. 

 The other carries the man-smell from the game. 



Which way does the newly-discovered footprint run ? 

 More flakes are in one hole than the other. He fol 

 lows the trail till he has an idea of the direction the 

 moose is taking; for the moose runs straightaway, not 

 circling and doubling back on cold tracks like the deer, 

 but marching direct to the objective point, where it 

 turns, circles slightly a loop at the end of a line 

 and lies down a little off the trail. When the pursuer, 

 following the cold scent, runs past, the moose gets 

 wind and is off in the opposite direction like a vanish 

 ing streak. 



Having ascertained the lie of the land, the trapper 

 leaves the line of direct trail and follows in a circling 

 detour. Here, he finds the print fresher, not an hour 

 old. The moose had stopped to browse and the mark 

 ings are moist on a twig. The trapper leaves the trail, 

 advancing always by a detour to leeward. He is sure, 

 now, that it is a spinster. If it had been any other, 

 the moose would not have been alone. The rest would 

 be tracking into the leader s steps; and by the fresh 

 trail he knows for a certainty there is only one. But 

 his very nearness increases the risk. The wind may 

 shift. The snowfall is thinning. This time, when he 

 comes back to the trail, it is fresher still. The hunter 

 now gets his rifle ready. He dare not put his foot down 

 without testing the snow, lest a twig snap. He parts 

 a way through the brush with his hand and replaces 

 every branch. And when next he comes back to the 

 line of the moose s travel, there is no trail. This is 

 what he expected. He takes off his coat; his leggings, 



