306 SHOET STALKS 



animal is moving below tliem.^ In America, squirrels act 

 in the same way, and are often a useful guide to the 

 whereabouts of o'ame. As the shouts of the men were 

 not yet audil)le I was sure that there were deer on the 

 move. The chattering company gradually ascended the 

 hill towards me, till they stopped a little below, and just 

 beyond a ridge, after which they gradually dis^^ersed. I 

 drew my inferences that something had come up to that 

 point and stopped there. The men had had orders to 

 bring the valley down, and then to swing up the side of 

 the hill towards my post. To my disgust, when they had 

 accomplished the first part of their task, they omitted the 

 second. I stayed where I was for another hour, vainly 

 hoping that they would carry out their orders. Then 

 with my glass I made out one of the Turks far below me, 

 busily engaged knocking crab-apples off the trees. It was 

 useless staying where I was, so I steered straight for the 

 place where I had last heard the jays and there found the 

 fresh bed of a stao", and tracks showino- that he had vacated 

 it in haste, probably when he heard me descending the 

 stony coidolr. A Turk often begins a jol) well but seldom 

 completes it. 



All these days my companion, whose superior energy 

 deserved and obtained more exciting adventures than my 



1 Since writing tlie above I find that olil Turberville made iinicli tlie 

 same observation more than three hundred years ago. He writes, "you 

 shal see by experience y* if there be any X)yes, or javes, or such liyrdes, 

 whicli chatter at them [the deer] and discover them, they will streight way 

 return unto their tliicket to hyde themselves for the shame and feare that 

 they have ; " and again — " Furdermore if in casting aboute tlie covert, lie 

 heare either pyes, jayes, or such byrdes wondering, . . . that is a token that 

 the harte is vet on foote." 



