156 HUNTING CAMPS. 



the still, clear water upon which the evening glow still 

 shone. 



The elk had waded out deep into the lake and then 

 begun to swim, so we lost no time in making our way to 

 the nearest point on the opposite shore where he would be 

 likely to land, and commenced to search for his trail. But, 

 although we searched long, we came upon no indication of 

 his having come ashore. Even with Bismarck's help we 

 failed to discover any trace of him, and long after dark 

 we returned, worn out and bitterly disappointed, to the 

 saeter. 



Once we gained this haven of rest the fire was quickly 

 lit in the big iron stove, its light shining out upon the 

 darkness until we closed the door and prepared to take 

 our meal in a despondent silence. It is strange how per- 

 sistently the sting of a lost opportunity frets the heart of 

 a hunter ; a successful or difficult shot has not the power 

 to elate him in any corresponding degree. He is apt, and 

 rightly apt, to give the credit to the modern weapon of pre- 

 cision. But let him miss a shot, a fair shot, or, far worse, 

 lose a beast after wounding it, then it is well to draw a veil 

 over his next hours. So it was with me while I watched 

 the firelight gleaming on the rude walls and endeavoured 

 to account for the disappearance of the elk, an effort in 

 which Peder's comment gave me no aid, as he repeatedly 

 pronounced the lost bull " an evil beast." I concluded 

 finally that either the animal's strength had failed in the 

 middle of his long swim across the lake, which was possible, 

 though to my mind exceedingly improbable, or that after 

 entering the water he had turned back northwards and 

 regained the shelter of the woods from which he originally 

 emerged. 



Presently Bismarck began to growl, and almost im- 

 mediately a bearded face was pressed against the window 

 pane, then the door opened to admit its owner. Peder 



