deer, softly stepping along his beaten 

 path which leads down the valley to a 

 pond where he goes every night for drink, 

 for water plants, or just to wallow, may 

 encounter a breeze bringing to his nos- 

 trils the human scent. He then will blow 

 his bugle blast, which can be heard a 

 mile. In such case the wakeful camper 

 is never in doubt as to who spoke. The 

 same is true when the owl booms out 

 across the valley his eternal question, 

 "Who?" No other bird or beast ever 

 speaks in the same tone of voice. But 

 most of the smaller noises of the forerst 

 night are subjects for speculation. One 

 always instinctively tries to analyze and 

 allocate each noise to its author. In this 

 game an intimate knowledge of the habits 

 of forest residents is useful, so that, at 

 the camp breakfast in the morning, one 

 may confidently assert that so and so vis- 

 ited the camp last night! 



When, as sometimes happened, both 

 Bige and I were wakeful at the same 

 time, the breakfast hour was made inter- 



53 



