238 SHORT STALKS 



dogs whicli proceeded from no canine throats. The one 

 hallucination may have been suggested by a little pebljle 

 hopping down from the cliff above, or the rumbling of 

 stones in the torrent below, the sound of which comes up 

 to you at intervals, now faint and now strong, then for a 

 long period altogether inaudible. The baying of the dogs 

 is what you are listening for, so the illusion is natural, 

 l)ut the real thing is unmistakable, and, if you hear it, 

 pull yourself together, for a dun-coloured Ijody may spring 

 across the couloir which you are commanding, either above 

 or l)elow you, and won't wait till your hand stops trembling. 

 Much more frequently nothing happens at all, and the 

 tension of your heart-strings is final!}" put an end to by a 

 sudden and unexpected yell from a Ijcater, which nearly 

 cracks them outright. He appears round a corner of rock 

 and looks round in a l)ewildered way, for though he knows 

 you are there, he cannot see you till you rise stiffly and 

 stretch the aching joints, with a sense of relief that that 

 penance is over at any rate. 



Some interest is afi:brded by the birds and lesser 

 animals. Fliohts of thrushes comino; from the direction of 

 the drive afford the first indication of the approach of the 

 beaters, tliouoh these are still inaudible. As vou are 

 stationary, and nearly the colour of the rock, the live 

 tilings do not see you, and consequently come very close. 

 A squirrel pattering over loose stones is a good imitation 

 of the sound made by the larger animal which you are ex- 

 pecting. They are mostly coal l)lack, with a slight tinge of 

 gray on the tail — a very pretty species. When at last they 

 discover the enemy, they chatter angrily. Dusky jays 

 express their views on things in general in the same way 



