AN ELK SEASON. 151 



in my case the power of the alien sportsman. But I 

 followed as fast as was possible to me. So complete and 

 so sudden had been the downfall of the elk to the first shot 

 that I had fancied that he would not travel very far, so 

 instead of hurrying along in his tracks I took things quietly 

 and went at my leisure. But ill-luck was with us, for by 

 some misfortune the hound slipped his leash, and with an 

 echoing bark at every spring he bounded away in pursuit. 

 After this there was no time to be lost, though soon the 

 barking ceased ; but we hastened forward, and, coming 

 over a second rise, heard Bismarck again, but from the 

 sound he appeared to be stationary and was probably 

 baying the elk. By this time it was raining so hard as to 

 make tracking very difficult, and shortly when the barking 

 began again to fade away into the distance, I realised that 

 my chances of seeing the elk again that day were slender ; 

 and, indeed, I did not see him either then or after, though 

 Peder and I searched the woods for him during the follow- 

 ing days. As to the bull, in thinking it over it seems likely 

 that the first bullet touched his backbone and creased him, 

 and at the moment of writing he is probably wandering in 

 the forest, none the worse as far as I am concerned. 



After this, for many days to be exact, twelve days 

 and their twin nights we had nothing more encouraging 

 to vary our thoughts than regrets for the lost bull, though 

 on one occasion while walking down a forest glade we saw 

 the long, Roman-nosed face of a cow-elk regarding us 

 steadfastly from a little distance. Of course there was no 

 shooting, and the woods soon swallowed her up. Several 

 times in the course of those twelve days we knew ourselves 

 to be close to elk, but always in thick timber, so that some- 

 times we could hear the great creatures feeding and moving, 

 but not once did we gain the slightest glimpse of them. 

 These were generally still bright days with wandering winds, 

 such as are in their season very pleasant to all the world 



