94 THE STILL-HUNTER. 



when alone and not running with the mother to be 

 highly worthy of the tyro's bullet. 



It would not do to shoot from here. It is too far en- 

 tirely for a sure shot by any one, and a tyro would be 

 sure to miss. Therefore the very first thing you must do 

 is not to be in a hurry. Find out what the fawn is doing; 

 examine all the surroundings; see which is the best 

 way to approach it. But above all things, positively 

 no hurry, for in still-hunting Hurry is the parent of 

 Flurry. There is no occasion for haste, for the fawn 

 will probably not leave that brush at this time of day. 

 It probably has not yet lain down and is about to do 

 so. Or it may have been lying down and has risen 

 to change its bed to the shade, or you know not what. 

 At any rate, it is not alarmed, and will probably stay 

 there until afternoon if let alone. It is browsing a 

 little, you see. A deer is very apt to nip a few twigs 

 at any time of the day he happens to be on foot. 

 Every time it nips a bud or two it raises its pretty 

 little head above the bushes and takes a good long 

 look. You must get within at least a hundred 

 yards, and even fifty if you can; for it will be no easy 

 matter to tell where its body is, and the head will be 

 too fine a mark for a beginner. 



Slipping backward and going down a little ravine, 

 you reach the low ground without being seen by the 

 fawn, and soon reach the patch of low brush in which 

 you saw it. You take unusual care about every step; 

 you stoop quite low; you felicitate yourself upon 

 your acuteness and caution. Arriving within a 

 hundred yards of where it was, you rise up and take 

 a look; but seeing nothing, you move on twenty yards 

 more and take another look. Nothing in sight yet, 

 and twenty yards more fails to reveal anything. 



