OF THE OLD WORLD. 15 



*' The deer evidently know this ground well, Hal," 

 exclaimed Walter, breaking silence after an hour's 

 heavy pull up and down hill, " for see, they have 

 gone up stream to find a more convenient ford, as 

 the current here is so strong that the fawns, not, 

 being able to keep their legs, would have been swept 

 away in crossing, so if you are not out of breath, we 

 will after them at once, as the quicker we get over 

 the ground the less will we have to cover, provided 

 we go about it quietly and cautiously." 



On we went, sometimes on our hands and knees, 

 creeping through dense underwood, and at others 

 climbing rocks or wading watercourses, until we 

 came to place where the stream was a shallow, and 

 here it was evident that the deer had crossed very 

 lately, as water was still flowing into the deep 

 imprints made by their feet in the soft sands near 

 the banks. 



"Take care not to make any splash as you go 

 over, and tread carefully, Hal," whispered Walter ; 

 "the trail is warm, and the herd cannot be far off, 

 for the slots indicate they have been going slowly, 

 browsing as they went, so they cannot have taken 

 alarm." "Go ahead," I replied, feeling, I must 

 own, rather nervous and excited, as who would 

 not be, when after his first stag ; and on we went, 

 creeping along with the utmost caution for a quarter 

 of an hour, when suddenly we heard a sharp noise, 

 like the barking of a dog, which seemed to come 

 from a dense thicket some short distance in our front. 



