174 ON THE FKONTIEK. 



eminence to my left, hoping to get a shot too, but not 

 doing so, joined me, and together we went to where the 

 deer had been passing when I fired, to see if there was 

 any blood drawn. And there it was not much, but 

 enough to be plainly visible ; and an occasional drop of it, 

 at intervals, was unmistakable evidence the doe was hit 

 somewhere. 



The nature of the ground had prevented our marking the 

 course the deer had taken for any great distance. If hard 

 hit, she might be laid down in the next hollow ; she might 

 run until she dropped. We thought the safest thing was for 

 one of us to mount the nearest high ground, and from it 

 keep a good look-out in the direction in which the deer had 

 disappeared, and for the other to go back to camp and bring 

 up the dogs on a leash. 



When Joe returned with Nip and Tug, I took the trail, he 

 leading the dogs well to windward of it, in order that they 

 should not smell the scent, for, had they done so, holding 

 them would have become out of the question. 



The tracks told me that the doe, after galloping nearly 

 half-a-mile, had changed her pace into a trot and then a 

 walk. For a considerable distance there had been no more 

 blood visible on her track, and we came to the conclusion 

 she had been shot through the hollow of her body, and was 

 bleeding internally. 



We had gone about a mile, when the deer jumped up some 

 hundred and fifty yards in front of us. Nip and Tug saw 

 her immediately, and sprang forward with such a jerk as to 

 throw poor Joe fiat on his face. Fortunately the leash 

 slipped right, set the dogs at liberty ; and away they went, we 



