THE DEERSTALKER 231 



at the panting object behind them ; the rifle is pulled 

 out of its cover, shoved into the sportsman's hand, and 

 the whisper, " Tak' 'im noo, tak' 4m noo, Captain the 

 big black one.'' But alas! the sportsman's sides are 

 heaving, his heart is throbbing, and his hand is shaking 

 from excitement and fatigue, and, getting up, he draws 

 an unsteady bead, which results in a miss and remorse 

 for the rest of the day. 



Now all this might have been different had you 

 adapted your pace to that of your " gentleman," which, 

 if deer are settled, it is just as easy to do as going at 

 your own pace. Of course there are times, when deer 

 are on the move, that you must go fast in fact, race 

 for a shot, but the stalker should always remember that 

 there is not the slightest advantage in his being one 

 hundred or two hundred yards in front of his " gentle- 

 man " (a condition of affairs I have seen). The two 

 should be in close touch with one another. 



But let us now hark back to the spying-point. Now, 

 young stalker, we will presume that you are thoroughly 

 acquainted with a glass, and before you have sat down 

 two minutes to spy you will know if your " gentleman " 

 is at home with it or not. He may be a first-class man 

 with the glass, but you must not think you are a better 

 man than he because you pick out deer first, as this 

 results from the fact that you know the ground and 

 exactly where to find them. The sportsman, on the 

 other hand, is heavily handicapped, being a stranger 

 and not knowing the likely spots to put his glass on ; 



