RETXDKKR STALK I XU 325 



that liL' usi's it foi' a rcspii'jitnr. " Barlud " was the size 

 of a collie, but eoal Mack all (t\cr, except for one white 

 foot which o-avo him jiis iiaiiic His fine fur seemed to l)e 

 the ohjccl of his especial pride, ;iiid lliree or four times 

 a dav. he ch';iiic<l liimsclf in (he snow, scatteriiiir it ahoiit. 

 and ruhhiiii'- his hack on it lill his coat shone ao-ain. 

 The expression of " JJarfod's " face showed that he was as 

 honest as the day, and as shrewd as a Scotchman, and, 

 besides all llnsi^ qualities, he possessed a fai'-reaching' 

 power of smell, by the help of which he would not only 

 indicate^ tlu^ presence of de(>r at a distance of three or four 

 miles, if the l)reeze and the nature of the ground were fav- 

 oural)le, l)ut his master could tell from his manner whether it 

 was the deer themselves that he winded, or only their tracks. 

 Moreover, he was as mute as an undertaker when the case 

 required it, Init when the occasion was past, as garrulous 

 and as cheery as a fox-hunter after a good run, provided the 

 stalk had been successful. Besides "Barfod" I hired two 

 infei'io]' beings wlio professed to have local knowledge, but 

 who 1 should judge had never been on the fjeld before. 



At davbreak next morninc;, we ascended a small lateral 

 vallev, ;ind after jiassing a gi'ouj) of swto's — as the Nor- 

 wegians call their summer chalets — where I pro})Osed to 

 pass the night, struck u[) a steep ascent, and in half an 

 hour came out on the edge of the drear\' ijeld. This con- 

 sists of a vast plateau of heather and rock, cut through at 

 r;ire intervals, b\- the dccji 1i-cn<'h of a cultivated vnlley — 

 low ridge and shallow \";dh'\' alternating for fbi't\- miles, 

 with hei-e and there a small ha It"- formed glacier, or little 

 lake, still nearly choked with the winter snow. In places, 

 the ridges rise more stee]il\'. with some pretence at jagged 



