AN OMINOUS INTRUDER 91 



that he was alone, he uttered the dawn cry, and 

 the next moment rounded the point and gained 

 the reeds. In the grey light, the buzzard wing- 

 ing his way to the moorland saw him curled up 

 there, holding one of his pads in his mouth, — 

 asleep, as he knew by the slow, regular rise and 

 fall of his flank. 



But what creature is that astir near the outlet ? 

 It must be some other wildling come to share 

 the primal solitude of the hilltop. Yet its move- 

 ments are not those of a four-footed beast. 

 Surely, surely it is a — is it possible ? Yes, it is 

 a man ! He is clear of the rocks now, and is 

 picking his way across the current. Now he has 

 landed, and look, look how he hurries up the 

 strand, and how suddenly he drops to the ground 

 on the crest ! Strange conduct in this lone place 

 and at such an hour ! He must be under the 

 ban of his fellows, a fugitive, maybe, from hue 

 and cry, and fearful of discovery. 



Nothing of the kind. That man is Grylls the 

 harbourer, from the deer forest; but otter, not 

 stag, has drawn him here this morning, and 

 eagerness to examine the ground below is the 

 reason of his haste. Already, glass to eye, he 

 follows the course of the tributary on his left, 

 hopeful every second of seeing an otter making 



12—2 



