forward stiffly and his eyes shining as he , 



watched me keenly for the slightest motion. 



Then he waded out leisurely, climbed the 



bank, which was here steep, and disappeared wifnoufQ Grlffi 



in the woods. As he vanished I followed 

 him, close behind, and watched his way of 

 carrying his huge antlers and lifting his legs 

 with a high step, like a Shanghai rooster, 

 over the windfalls. Of all the moose that I 

 have ever followed, this was the only one 

 whose head seemed too heavy for comfort. 

 He carried it low, and nursed his wide antlers 

 tenderly among the tree trunks and alder 

 stems. They were still in the velvet, and no 

 doubt the rude scraping of the rough branches 

 made him wince unless he went softly. At 

 last, finding that I was close at his heels, he 

 turned for another look at me ; but I slipped 

 behind a friendly tree until I heard him move 

 on, when I followed him again. Some sus- 

 picion of the thing that was on his trail, or it 

 may be some faint eddy of air with the dan- 

 ger smell in it, reached him then ; he laid his 

 great antlers back on his shoulders, moose 

 fashion, and lunged away at a terrific pace 



