A TANTALISING QUEST 293 



lnitidrcil yards in aii\' direction, and there is every proba- 

 lulilv of ucttiiiL!,' within earshot ol" the deer luTore it is 

 possilih' l(» see them. They liave, therefore, every ad\aii- 

 tage o\-er the man, and th(! elianees are greatly in favour 

 of their either seeing or snicllinL; him first. In most cases 

 llie\ lake their h'a\e without Jiis e\er becomini;; aware of 

 their [)roxiniit}', unless he should presently come across 

 tracks, ver\' drr-^) at the toe, and with the dii't senttei-ed 

 around — a sure antl certain sign that those who made 

 them departed in fear. Unless this is the case, deer are 

 never in a hurry. Even when in motion, their gait is a 

 saunter, which, for strategic })urposes of defence, is almost 

 as o:ood as standiuL!' still. When hduLi; it is needless to 

 obser\e that a I'axourahle positioji is always chosen. Then, 

 unless a man has been brought up to hunting in woods, 

 lie is ahuost sure to foriret his h'^s. The branches hide 

 his view and it does not occur to him that the eyes of a 

 deer are at a level to see under them. After all he is no 

 wiser than the ostrich. Ao-ain, as a set-olf to all his 

 other ad\antages as a predatiir\- animal, man is a nu>st 

 c(.ns|iieuous object. A post six feet high catches the eye 

 on anv kind of uround. In deer-stalkino; in oiien country 

 where he can discover the game from a distance, he 

 counteracts this disability b\- makiuo; to himself four len-g 

 wherewitli Id make Ins lin.-d appniaeh. 



He is also, for his weight, the most noisy of animals. 

 He makes more fuss with his two lejjfs tlian aiivthing else 

 en(h3\ved with four, and that Wrings me to the greatest 

 dilHiadt \- we had to encounter — the alniormal stillness of 

 the air. In Scandinavia, where elk are hunted in forest 

 nearl}', but not (piite, as dense, it is considered hopeless to 



