TO KOSKACODDE 225 



However, a change of clothes was at hand and 

 I was none the worse for my dip. Just as we 

 got into the new lake I saw a deer make off on 

 the far side, having seen us. I could not make 

 out whether it was a stag or a hind, as I only 

 saw its rump disappearing in the trees. At the 

 same moment John saw a stag feeding quietly 

 away on our side of the lake. We soon got 

 close enough to see that the head was a poor 

 one. I tried to take a snapshot with the 

 camera, but when I got within fifty yards he 

 saw me and was off. He was a fine big-bodied 

 beast, and may have been one of the stags Steve 

 had seen in the morning. We pushed on about 

 one mile, and camped on a promontory stretch- 

 ing out into the lake. There was a nice sandy 

 shelving beach and a perfect camping ground 

 all ready, as it had been cleared by some other 

 party the previous year, and only the under- 

 growth had to be cut away. 



In the afternoon, taking the canoe, we 

 paddled quietly along the shore, and after about 

 two miles landed on a sandy beach to look for 

 signs. A fringe of wood clothed the south 

 shore of the lake, beyond which was a fairly 

 open country. There were plenty of signs, and 

 we were strolling quietly along the beach when 

 Steve seized me by the arm and whispered, 

 " Deer coming through wood." I confess I 



