152 HUNTING WITH DOGS. 



hand- wrought wood, a relic of some Circassian house 

 furniture, and fruit-trees that were merged into the 

 forest when their owners joined the Turks. These 

 old ' aouls ' are very strongholds of Bruin, and his 

 work is visible on all sides. Little pathways, beaten 

 smooth through the briary places, torn-down 

 branches of the walnut and apple, and bees' nests 

 dug out where none but he could have got at them, 

 all attest his presence. 



It was from one of these old ' aouls ' that our 

 dogs first got anything to make a really good stand. 

 The ' aoul ' had been on the very summit of one of 

 the chain of hills on which we were shooting. The 

 site of it was covered with acres of dense briars, 

 from the midst of which towered what had pro- 

 bably been the village pride, a patriarchal chestnut 

 of enormous size. Here Zizda gave out his deep 

 bass warning that game was afoot, and the other 

 three curs made a chorus of it. I was down below 

 in a belt of chestnuts outside the region of briars ; 

 and thinking that whatever the game was, it would 

 probably break downhill from the thicket in which 

 the dogs were baying it by a little track that passed 

 me, i jumped on to a tree-stump and waited. 

 Stepan was on the other side of the briars, quite 

 close to the scene of action, and I naturally ima- 

 gined would close in still more and get his shot. 

 After waiting a good ten minutes, during which 

 time neither game, dogs, nor Stepan appeared to 



