166 A SPORTING PARADISE 



the flesh of a fat buck remained unconsumed 

 in the midst. An unwholesome-looking loaf 

 was uncut, and the preparations appeared as 

 though made for an expected guest. A large 

 hunting-knife and steel were hanging from a 

 nail ready for use. There were no windows, 

 but on one side was a sliding door, used probably 

 both for light and ventilation. This room was 

 divided into a sleeping and feeding compartment 

 by a curious screen composed of deer-hides 

 and old sacking. My attention was particularly 

 attracted to this screen. An extraordinary fascina- 

 tion caused me to gaze at it. Curiosity has 

 always been attributed to women, but men also 

 like to dabble with the mysterious. 



<c I gazed for some time at the simple furniture 

 and the weird-looking screen before I decided 

 to investigate. I had no wish to intrude upon 

 the privacy of another, but a sickly, oppressive 

 odour permeated the atmosphere and produced 

 a feeling of intolerable nausea. I attributed 

 this to the death of some unfortunate dog or 

 cat, that had been unintentionally neglected. 

 The idea of any person occupying the place 

 never occurred to me. 



" My hand had already seized the huge screen, 



