Megaleep the Wanderer. 21 



and presently followed the mothers over the low hur- 

 dles. But a few were timid ; and then came the most 

 intensely interesting bit of the whole strange school, 

 when a little one would be led to a tree and butted 

 from behind till he took the jump. 



There was no " consent of the governed " in that 

 governing. The mother knew, and the calf did n't, 

 just what was good for him. 



It was this last lesson that broke up the school. 

 Just in front of my hiding place a tree fell out into 

 the opening. A mother caribou brought her calf up 

 to this unsuspectingly, and leaped over, expecting the 

 little one to follow. As she struck she whirled like a 

 top and stood like a beautiful statue, her head point- 

 ing in my direction. Her eyes were bright with fear, 

 the ears set forward, the nostrils spread to catch every 

 tainted atom from the air. Then she turned and 

 glided silently away, the little one close to her side, 

 looking up and touching her frequently as if to whis- 

 per, What is it? what is it? but making no sound. 

 There was no signal given, no alarm of any kind that 

 I could understand ; yet the lesson stopped instantly. 

 The caribou glided away like shadows. Over across 

 the opening a bush swayed here and there ; a leaf 

 quivered as if something touched its branch. Then 

 the schoolroom was empty and the woods all still. 



