40 A SPORTING PARADISE 



and then she suddenly sank to the shoulders ; 

 again her hind-quarters would almost disappear ; 

 sometimes I lost sight of the pursued and pur- 

 suers, as the former doubled backwards and 

 forwards in the denser parts of the woods, where 

 the snow was not so heavy as in the barren and 

 along its skirts. Twice or oftener I came within 

 easy distance and was reproached for not firing, 

 and perhaps had I known the sufferings in store 

 for the poor brute I might have been induced 

 then and there to put an end to the chase ; but 

 having that morning made a secret vow not to 

 shoot at a hind, I was obdurate, nor did his 

 request to borrow my gun meet with consent. 

 So, shouldering his axe with redoubled energy, 

 Brown pushed forward, and once I saw him raise 

 it, and as suddenly lower the weapon as the 

 animal twisted and turned in a clump of pine 

 saplings. He had, in fact, lost a good chance of 

 braining the moose or breaking its spine, and 

 now, over-excited by the chase and dead beat by 

 extra exertion, he had no alternative but to give 

 in. Being myself fairly out of breath, I hung 

 back also ; and as we were both moving leisurely 

 along, there appeared the two wardens, who had 

 lost the tracks in attempting to cut off the animal's 



