THE AXIS. 29 



fork of a tree, the foliage of which completely 

 sheltered me from the piercing rays of the sun. 

 A quarter of an hour might have passed, during 

 which time I remained perfectly quiiet, having 

 fallen into a brown study as to the best means of 

 proceeding, when all at once a kind of low snort 

 attracted my notice. I caught up my rifle, silently 

 cocked it, and peered carefully round, listening 

 attentively, but nothing was to be seen. Not a 

 twig cracked, nor a leaf rustled ; still I could dis- 

 tinctly hear a hard breathing, evidently close at 

 hand. At last, while keeping my eye upon a 

 large clump of bush, from which I thought the 

 sound proceeded, I saw the long brown hairy face 

 and expressive black eyes of a deer issue forth 

 close to the ground from under the foliage. For 

 a moment the head remained perfectly motionless, 

 although I observed the nostrils expand and the 

 eyes reconnoitre the glade in a most suspicious 

 manner ; however, the height of my position above 

 the ground not only enabled me to escape notice, 

 but also prevented the taint in the air from being 

 discovered, for I again heard a significant low 



