IN TIMBER AND BRtLfiE. 231 



side, where the eighteen had come upon the scene, and the 

 ridge under which we were creeping formed, as we soon 

 discovered, a mere tongue of rock that must be crossed. As 

 we climbed it I felt that ominous tickling of the wind, first 

 on one ear, then on the other, and finally on the back of the 

 neck, which means an eddy. The herd we had first seen 

 were, or we judged ought to be, about a hundred yards away 

 over the ridge and about abreast of our position ; the 

 eighteen which had descended the hillside at an equal dis- 

 tance straight ahead of us. If either band were startled 

 both would in all probability stampede. We therefore 

 scrambled down from the ridge and began to circumvent its 

 base. I was sure the deer must have been startled ; but 

 no, in another twenty yards I caught a glimpse of the white 

 hind-quarters of a doe, and I saw that her head was down 

 and that she was feeding. So far good, but the wind 

 was shifting more and more to the side, and, as it seemed, 

 must carry the hint of our presence to the herd we had seen 

 first. No cover was now left to us but the final knob of 

 the ridge, a bare hummock of reindeer moss, and at the very 

 moment we attempted to crawl to it the wretched doe 

 raised her head. We both lay still and were making up our 

 minds to a long wait when, to our relief, she fed quietly 

 out of sight. 



The course was at last clear, so, abandoning without 

 regret the attitude of the serpent, which is exceedingly 

 irksome in nine inches of water, we closed in rapidly, and 

 a few moments found us lying panting against the soft 

 mossy side of that most grateful hummock. Before I looked 

 over, I knew that we were near to our quarry ; the peculiar 

 clicking noise that caribou make with their hoofs was start- 

 lingly distinct, as well as the suck of their feeding. As I 

 peered over the top of the hummock my eyes met those 

 of the doe, with no more than eight paces between us. 

 Her companions were all round her, and she at once gave 



