How Animals Talk 



brute is hidden somewhere in the midst of the 

 herd, depending on the screen of cow-elk to warn 

 him of danger to his precious skin. Waiting im- 

 patiently till this vanguard has moved aside, you 

 attempt to worm your way nearer to the hidden 

 bull. You are succeeding beautifully, you think, 

 when a single cow that you overlooked begins to 

 act uneasily. She has not seen or heard you, 

 certainly, and the wind is still in your favor; 

 but there she stands, like an image of suspicion, 

 head up, looking, listening, testing the air, till 

 she makes up her mind she would as lief be some- 

 where else, when without cry or grunt or warning 

 of any kind that ears can hear she turns and 

 glides rapidly away. 



Now if you value animal lore above stuffed 

 skins, or experience above the babble of hunting 

 naturalists, forget the big bull and his greed- 

 stirring antlers; scramble quickly to the highest 

 outlook at hand, and use your eyes. No alarm 

 has been sounded; the vast silence is unbroken; 

 yet for some mysterious reason the whole herd is 

 suddenly on the move. To your right, to your 

 left, near at hand or far away, bushes quiver or 

 jump; alert brown forms appear or vanish like 

 shadows, all silent and all heading in the direction 

 taken by the first sentinel. One moment there 

 are scores of elk in sight, feeding or resting 



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