A TANTALISING QUEST 297 



iiiilMissililc to say, — f'T in th;it >till air, aiKl on flic dewy 

 iiTiiss, llic scfiil iniulit liaii"'" lor some time. Uii iiiaiiy 

 subsequent occasions my nostrils were assailrd in tlie same 

 \va\', and a very tantalisino- tliino; it was. I lia\c luaid dl' 

 people \\ ho l)clicvc' tlicmselves to ])l' sun-oundcd 1»\- .-pirits. 

 Here I he invisil)le essence filled the air and made one feel 

 jusi like that. 1 was coididriit that tliedceriiad iTinained 

 on that side of the valley, iur the op})osite side had been 

 occ'Uiiied duvina- the dav hv a nois\' (•omi)an\' of wood- 

 cutters. 



AVe had not traversed half (»iu' appointed beat, before 

 what lisilit air there was shifted to our Ijacks, and to avoid 

 disturbini:; the ground, we pursued our \va\- hi^ncwards 

 along the torrent l)ed at the bottom. "Smoke" suddenly 

 paused and made tliat \va\\' motion uf his nose as if he 

 were driid^ing an<l swaHowing the aii'. while he looked 

 steadfastly up the stee]» slope to the left. He was not very 

 sure, f'l' he (-(add not get the wind direct. A\'e had just 

 passed one of the steep gullies that lani straight up and 

 down these slopes. They always contain raid< herbage 

 and are favourite feeding places, so that I felt sure that 

 the deer, if deer there were, wei'e somewhere lu it. We 

 mounted the slope, not following the course of the gull}-, 

 but making little loops and returning to it at a high(>r and 

 a hiuher itoint. Still, the doo- was doubt I'ul. as was shown 

 bv his iiazino- first in one direction, then in another. Alv 

 companion, who is without experience, lait fond of luaking 

 suggestions, said : " On cUrait ij^n' d iloit ctre libre." 1 do 

 not know it 1 made any answer to this wild [»roposal, 

 totallv foivign to the priiieiples of a Ju inJ-l, >i ml . \^ \ did 

 1 suppose 1 was misunderstood. Intent on the groiuid 



