IN THE WAPITI COUNTRY 111 



use making a fuss. If I were making such a 

 trip again, I would ask the men to leave their 

 rifles behind, for they cannot resist shooting at 

 anything that comes their way. 



He had come back at once to tell me, and 

 begged of me to go out with him and take 

 up the track, which was only about a mile 

 away. 



The rain was again falling and we had only 

 a couple of hours of daylight, but still I decided 

 to see for myself the tracks and ascertain, if 

 possible, whether the bull had been wounded 

 and where. Taking Thomson with us, we 

 started and were soon as usual wet through. 



We found the spot where Smith had come on 

 the bull and fired. There were a few traces of 

 blood, but they were all high up on the bushes, 

 and from the pace the wapiti was travelling, 

 it was evident he was none the worse for the 

 light bullet of Smith's Winchester rifle. 



We followed the track till dusk and had a 

 weary tramp back to camp in the dark. 



I had again ricked my knee and was in 

 considerable pain. Everything seemed to have 

 gone wrong, first my accident, then Smith's, 

 and now a wounded wapiti that we might 

 never find. 



The prospect of the morrow's work with a 

 swollen and painful knee was not very cheering, 



