MISSING A BIG MOOSE 69 



of these bushes a blade of his antlers had, in some way, 

 gotten tangled up, so that the animal had pulled it up 

 by the roots and carried it quite a distance before he 

 could get rid of it. 



The tracks were so fresh as to assure us that the noble 

 game had passed ahead of us only an hour or so before 

 our arrival. 



It was now high time for something to eat, and we 

 sat down close to a lively spring, ate our lunch and 

 washed it down with the delicious spring water that 

 bubbled up close by our seat. 



Now came the climb, the real work of the day. The 

 incline was quite gradual at first, then it became sharper, 

 and as the road followed the brook, which was gener- 

 ally rushing down the hill at a good pitch, with here and 

 there a little stretch of quiet water, it behooved us to 

 advance carefully, looking into each covert before we 

 passed it. We searched the ground eagerly for the 

 tracks, which had now disappeared from the road. Up 

 and up we climbed, and between the heat and the exer- 

 tion, and the high altitude which we were attaining, my 

 tongue was hanging out a signal of distress at every 

 stop, and truly I had " bellows to mend." 



Uncle Henry, however, showed no signs of trouble, 

 but jogged along quietly and steadily. After what 

 seemed to me a never-ending climb, Henry left the 

 brook, and made a sharp turn to the right, telling me 

 that he was aiming to make a short cut to a big dead-wa- 



