THE BIG BUCK "GONE FOE." 143 



to us the story of his late hunt, as nearly as may be, in the 

 following words : 



He said : " By daylight I was where you came to grief 

 by breaking through the ice, with this difference that I 

 was upon the other side of the creek, having crossed it 

 higher up by means of a beaver-dam. Being a cold trail, 

 I pushed ahead sharply, keeping a good look-out, and in a 

 little over two hours came to where the buck had lain 

 down to pass the dark of the night. There being no 

 morning moon, I knew he had not stirred before sunrise, 

 and might, therefore, be browsing or standing under some 

 tree quite near, so continued my way most cautiously, 

 never following the tracks when they crossed an open 

 unless obliged to do so, but, if possible, making a detour 

 to leeward, and striking the trail farther on in the cover. 

 In places it was very difficult to do so, on account of the 

 ground being frozen hard, so that it often took me a long 

 time to get his trail again after leaving it ; but I knew, if 

 the buck once saw or got a sniff of me, he might run ten 

 miles without stopping. 



"About eleven o'clock I sighted him. I was peeping 

 cautiously out of a thicket, at whose edge I had just 

 arrived, into a large park-like glade, and saw him under a 

 big, white-oak tree, eating the acorns. There was no cover 

 between me and where the buck stood, so I could not risk 

 trying to get nearer to him except by making a long detour, 

 and the nearest edge of the timber I was in was too far off 

 him to risk a shot from. There was, therefore, nothing for 

 it but to sit down and wait until he pleased to move on 

 or lie down, and so give me a chance to get nearer. 



