350 Sporting Sketches 



and for long, agonizing moments I lay there in 

 the snow staring at that infernal bird, while it eyed 

 me dreamily, and chuckled in an exasperatingly com- 

 miserating fashion, until the cramp-knot in my leg 

 grew hard as a base-ball, and I fumed and raged and 

 groaned inwardly. At last the fool-bird satisfied its 

 curiosity and trotted demurely away, and, when it 

 had got to a safe distance, I straightened my cramp 

 and wriggled on to the tuft whence the grouse had 

 come. 



Inch by inch I raised my head, until a clear view 

 was possible of the bull's feeding ground he had 

 vanished as though the earth had swallowed him! 

 Hastily glancing up the barren, I caught sight of 

 him walking smartly along, a good four hundred 

 yards away. He was not alarmed ; he had neither 

 heard, seen, nor winded me. He had merely decided 

 to move along. It was one of those maddening 

 brute whims that checkmate the still-hunter. I ex- 

 amined the rifle cover to make sure that all was 

 right. Then, after a good stretch to ease my cramped 

 muscles, I watched the bull and nursed my hard 

 luck. 



But chance favored me in the next move. The 

 caribou, after going about half a mile, turned across 

 the barren and headed for the timber on the farther 

 side, at the same time edging slightly in my direc- 

 tion. This course kept him well to windward, and 

 when he finally approached the distant cover, I again 

 started for him. 



It was a long, hard task to cross the barren in a 

 crouching position, but finally, I managed to get 

 behind him safely and followed the track. I was 



