TRACKING THE WOUNDED STAG. 355 



to bay. For us to follow him is out of the question : 

 where the earth is soft, all is trodden down with innu- 

 merable footmarks, and in the wood among the dead 

 leaves nothing can be seen. So I will go down to the 

 hut and send off at once to the forester." 



On my way I met the Senner, who said congratu- 

 latingly, " I have seen your stag." By this I imagined 

 he meant to say he had seen him some time that morning 

 on a glade, as was often the case, when looking upward 

 from the valley toward the steep mountain-sides, " You'll 

 soon have him now \" 



" What do you mean ?" I asked. 



" Why," said he, "as I returned from driving out 

 the cattle, just as I was crossing the brook, there stood 

 before me — quite close — not further off than you now are 

 from me — the stag on the bank ; I could have caught 

 him nearly, and with a stick could have knocked him 

 down." 



" But how do you know it was my stag V 



" We heard your shots, and soon after down came the 

 stag to the water, and wanted to cross over to the oppo- 

 site wood. But he could not get along well : one leg 

 he drags, and there was blood, plenty of blood, on his 

 flanks." 



" On which side ?" I asked, in order to see if he 

 were sure of what he was saying, and to test the nar- 

 rator. 



" The left side," was the answer, which was that on 

 which I had fired. 



" And his head," I continued, " how did he hold his 

 head ? Was it upright, and did he gaze at you ? And 

 when he saw you, how did he go away ? Very fast ?" 



" Oh no, not fast at all. I might have overtaken him ; 

 and as to his head, that was drooping, hanging down 



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