LOOKING FOR DEER THAT ARE ON FOOT. 67 



enough below the crest to see over and along the top 

 of the ridge. Follow it along in this way until you 

 reach the neck of land that connects this ridge with 

 the one you were last on. Then peep as cautiously 

 over this as you did over the last ridge. 



You see several new ridges leading away in various 

 directions, with nice little hollows between them con- 

 taining charming places for a deer to stand in or feed 

 in. But you see nothing resembling a deer. Pass on, 

 then, along the main backbone of the ridges, and keep 

 a keen watch from side to side, being careful about 

 showing too much of yourself or showing even the 

 upper half of your head too quickly to anything that 

 might be in any of the hollows; and examine the tops 

 and sides of every ridge as carefully as you can. 



Here, you see, are some more beds; and the tracks 

 in two of them are of different size from those we saw 

 before, which shows that within a quarter of a mile 

 there have been since last evening at least five, prob- 

 ably six and perhaps seven, different deer. These, 

 too, are only night-beds, and the occupants may now 

 be half a mile or more away. But as it is not yet 

 time to lie down, they may be only a hundred yards 

 away. And now you may 'walk still more slowly, for 

 the chances of being near a deer are increasing. Of 

 course the more plenty deer are, the more carefully 

 you must move. 



But see here ! What is this ? Down the sloping 

 side of a ridge the ground is torn up and the fresh 

 dirt and leaves thrown about. There are four such 

 places nearly together. In some of them there are 

 plain marks of two long split-hoofs and two prints of 

 dew-claws just back of them. Here is another set of 

 such marks fifteen feet farther on, and again about 



