THE FIRST SHOT AT A DEER. 99 



CHAPTER IX. 



THE FIRST SHOT AT A DEER. 



WE will suppose that several days of blighted hopes 

 have passed over your head; that some days you have 

 seen nothing but tracks and occasional long jumps, 

 and on others only a tail or two glimmering out of 

 sight in the dark depths of timber or over a ridge. 

 We will suppose this because it is most likely to be 

 true, and nothing should be concealed from you. On 

 the contrary, it is far better to know fully the ob- 

 stacles before you, so that you will know the want of 

 progress is your own fault, and one which you share 

 with all beginners. 



We will suppose what is quite certain to be true if 

 you have any spirit of the chase in you that these 

 days of disappointment have been days full of profit 

 and rich in experience ; that your eye has become 

 keener, more widely ranging and comprehensive in 

 its glance, more familiar with all the features of the 

 forest, detecting instantly shapes and spots before 

 unnoticed, and penetrating thicket and brush which 

 at first appeared almost impenetrable; that your step 

 has become lighter and more elastic, your foot at once 

 feeling a stick beneath it while your eyes are fixed far 

 away; your coat and legs avoiding brush as if instinc- 

 tively; your ears more keenly alive to every noise, and 

 your whole being worked up into a combination of 

 watchfulness and caution. 



