THE DEERSTALKER 233 



Therefore explain to him that when you are crawling 

 he must crawl, and when you are slithering he must 

 slither, and when you lie flat he must lie flat, and should 

 you suddenly stop (an action prompted perhaps by an 

 old hind looking up), he must stop at once also, in how- 

 ever disagreeable a position he may be, and not move 

 a muscle till he gets the " office " from you. Sometimes 

 you are caught with one knee in a green spring and the 

 other on a sharp rock, which is anything but pleasant ; 

 but such are the ups and downs of deerstalking. When 

 you are crawling with an inexperienced " gentleman," 

 it is always best to look round every now and then to 

 see if he is acting in conformity with you or not, for 

 sometimes a stalker cannot conceive what has put deer 

 off the ground till he looks round to find his " gentle- 

 man's " head buried in the ground, but his heels in the 

 air, or some part of his body showing. 



Now, having walked, run, crawled, wriggled, 

 slithered over fearful ground, sometimes in sight of deer 

 and sometimes not, you have arrived safely within a few 

 yards of where you expect to get your shot now is the 

 time for you, of all others, to keep perfectly calm. 

 Nervousness and excitement are very infectious, and 

 you are very apt to infect your " gentleman," especially 

 if he be a novice, and very often if he is not. I cannot 

 imagine any more exciting moments than those spent as 

 you are just crawling up to the last little hillock or rock, 

 knowing there is one of the finest harts of the forest 

 within one hundred yards. 



