not, but stood and gazed with those 

 great ears and mournful, truthful 

 eyes, and the rifle leaped but sank 

 again, for the Stag stood still and 

 calmly looked him in the eyes, and 

 Yan felt the prickling fading from 

 his scalp, his clenched teeth eased, 

 his limbs, bent as to spring, relaxed 

 and manlike stood erect* 



'Shoot, shoot, shoot now! This 

 is Vtihat you have toiled for/ said a 

 faint and fading voice, and spoke no 

 more* 



But Yan remembered the night 

 when he, himself run down, had 

 turned to face the hunting wolves, he 

 remembered too that night when the 

 snow was red with crime, and now 

 between him and the other there he 

 87 



