

being taught to twist and double quickly; 

 but what the rules of the game were, and 

 whether they ran in opposite circles to avoid 

 getting dizzy, was more than I could discover, 

 though the deer were never more than thirty 

 yards away from me and I could watch every 

 move clearly without my field-glasses. That 

 the game and some definite way of playing it 

 were well understood by the deer no one could 

 doubt who watched this wonderful play for 

 five minutes. Though they ran swiftly, with 

 astonishing lightness and grace, there was no 

 confusion. Every now and then one of the 

 does would leap forward and head off one of 

 her fawns as he headed into the big ring, 

 when like a flash he would whirl in his tracks 

 and away with a bl-r-r-t ! of triumph or dis- 

 satisfaction. Once a spike buck, and again a 

 V doe with two well-grown fawns, trotted out of 

 * the woods and, after watching the dizzy play 

 for a moment, leaped into it as if they under- 

 stood perfectly what was expected. 

 They played this game only for 

 a few minutes at a time; then 

 they would scatter and move up 



