78 THE WEASEL AND THE STOAT (THE ERMINE). 



On other occasions, when carrying a shot-gun, 

 I have wasted as many as three or four cartridges 

 before ultimately bagging a weasel taking stock 

 of me from an adjacent wall. His head would 

 appear from a cranny, but the very instant I 

 pressed the trigger he would draw back, the shot 

 splatting all round the hole the merest fraction of 

 a second too late. The report seemed not to 

 disturb the animal in the least, for in a second 

 he would be peering from another cranny, quite 

 motionless, his black eyes full of inquiry. Gener- 

 ally he appears once too often, and a stray shot 

 gets him, but it would seem that he is usually quick 

 enough to draw back in time on perceiving the 

 movement of the gunner's trigger-finger. 



When out with a dog, I have had a stoat 

 follow along the wall, appearing every few paces, 

 and chattering abuse and defiance at the dog, 

 sometimes only a yard or two away. 



Many wild animals, among which the weasel 

 family stand as typical examples, adopt the habit 

 of moving in jerks so rapid as to deceive the eye, 

 and of 'freezing' between each movement. In 

 hunting, when it is necessary to escape observa- 

 tion, this is a very effective way of approaching 

 game, and is made use of by the American Indians. 

 In stalking deer I have sometimes desired to raise 

 one hand, perhaps to remove a troublesome fly 

 from my face, perhaps to adjust the breech of my 

 rifle, and I have noticed that if the movement be 

 made instantly it is very seldom observed, pro- 

 viding one remains perfectly still before and after, 

 whereas a slow, cautious movement is almost 

 certain to give the show away. The deer know 

 this themselves, and on hearing a suspicious sound 

 up goes every head in the twinkling of an eye ; 



