In tbe Haunts of tbe Hare 373 



but quite frequently a cleft between roots, or the 

 interior of a hollow stump, forms the hiding-place. 

 It is odds on that the hare sees its pursuer before 

 being discovered, hence it is as apt to start from 

 almost under one's foot, or behind one's heels, as any- 

 where else. All wild creatures, when hiding, appear 

 to know the instant they are detected, whereupon 

 they immediately make off. I have more than once 

 walked almost over a crouching hare, only to start it 

 when I turned to look for the lost track. Needless 

 to say, it is very seldom the white fur is seen amid 

 the snow before the creature moves. When it 

 finally does start, one may be astride of a big log, 

 or snarled up in some brush, or in any one of a 

 dozen possible difficulties which may interfere with 

 the necessary quick, sure shot. As a rule, however, 

 one sees a hazily denned, speeding shape, and either 

 bowls puss over there and then, or realizes the force 

 of that ancient warning " First catch your hare." 

 This sort of still-hunting may lead into all imagi- 

 nable forms of bad going through brush, where dis- 

 lodged snow is forever falling ; through thorny stuff 

 which never seems to weary of raking one's face and 

 hands ; and, worst of all, across ponds of unknown 

 depth, the icy covering of which may or may not 

 bear a man's weight. It is, therefore, well to be a 

 bit shy of nice, open levels, which offer the easiest 

 of walking. They are very apt to mean ice and 

 more or less water. To a lone trailer a ducking 

 in the woods is no joke, and it may prove quite a 

 serious matter; for, as a general thing, getting in 

 is a heap easier than getting out. 



So much for the still-hunting. It may be that 



